Of Two Worlds
by FedoraLover23
Summary: She had been a dwarfling when her father had been killed by Orc's, and when her mother left Middle-Earth completely. To start a new life and forget all about Middle-Earth, and all that happened to her husband. But now Gandalf came to Brynn and her mother to ask for help. To change the fate of the dwarves and to reclaim Erebor. Kili/ OC & some Thorin/OC
1. Chapter 1: Revised

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit or LOTR in any which way, I only stake claim on my original Characters.

A/N: I know i redid this story once already, but I truly think everyone will like this updated version so much better, i added more and changed things around...some by quite a bit. So I please urge you to reread the chapters.

Chapter one

Middle-Earth wasn't anything like it had once been year's ago – a place that held many people's, people who cared for one and another and traded fairly throughout the land. Man, Elves, Dwarves and even the few Wizard's that roamed the world, they all had some sort of skill or good of value to offer the other races and for the most part they all lived in harmony with one and another, and in a few cases some even intermingled with one and another, married and had children.

These decades, and possibly even few centuries of peace that these people lived through would only last so long, peace and serenity could exist only for so long before something dark, horrid and retched came along to disturb such peace at these races had created for themselves. Creatures such as Wargs, Trolls, Goblins and Orcs came down form their dark homelands, infected the lands and brought such darkness and chaos with them that it disturbed the people, the kingdoms, the animals and even the trees of the forest. Everyone and everything could tell that these creatures brought bad things with them.

It was only a matter of time before the peace would be completely gone and be replaced with war and anger.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Middle-Earth ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Drifa this is madness," Gandalf, a wizened old wizard stated as he rubbed his temples with a groan, he could feel a quite bad head ache coming on. "I do not think that what you are asking of me is a wise idea my dear." He stated as he looked at a young looking dark haired Dwarf maiden, well she was half Dwarf and half of the race of Men but took after the dwarf side more so. "You still yet have family here, and friends who care very much for you. Asking me to send you away from Middle-Earth is a drastic measure, one such that I ask you to think on longer. You are not in the right mindset to make decisions such as this." He stated to her softly and looked into her dark eyes searchingly, hoping to sway her request of wanting to be sent far away from Middle-Earth because of the things that she has experienced in the last month or so.

Hearing that Drifa, the dwarf maiden suddenly turned towards him and glared with such ferocity that Gandalf himself almost felt as if the fires of mount doom were upon him, "I am not in the right mindset? I am in the perfect mindset to make these decisions Gandalf the Grey. After…..those things happened to me, I had weeks to travel in order to find you and have more than plenty of time to think on my options." Drifa stated and leveled Gandalf with a cold stare before her attention was turned away from him by the sound of her four month old daughter crying, looking down into her arms with a soft smile Drifa shifted a bit so to bring her young daughter closer to her hoping that it would comfort her a bit.

Gandalf peered at the mother and daughter pair and gave a sad downcast look to the two of them, Drifa was a young dwarf mother, a first time mother at that who was recently widowed and now had an infant daughter to raise by herself. And her daughter, Brynnhilda will never have the chance to know her father like she deserves and will never know her mother as the dwarf she was before certain events had come to pass.

"I know you question my state of mind," Drifa said softly as she looked away from her daughter's dark brown eyes, an exact replica of her own eyes and then up at Gandalf with hurt eyes. "I do not feel offense for that because if I was in your position I also would question my motives, but even with all that has happened to me I know in my heart that I cannot stay here. I will not be able to heal here even with all of the support of my friends and my brother's Dwalin and Balin." She said to him and took a deep breath at the thought of leaving her two brother's who've acted as father's to her throughout the years. "I will not be able to heal and recover if I remain here in Middle-Earth, I know in my heart that I will not."

Hearing those words Gandalf stood up from the log he was sitting on and strode a few steps towards Drifa – the two of them were in a small secluded area in Rivendell that overlooked a water fall and were quite close to the forest having this discussion. A bit of an odd place to have a discussion of such seriousness, well serious for Drifa at least, but it suited their needs nonetheless.

"Drifa I-" Gandalf started and reached out towards Drifa but before he was able to do so she stood up and walked towards where there was an opening in the thicket of tree's which revealed a grand view of the land of Rivendell.

Shaking her head Drifa ran her one free hand through her dark hair before resting it upon her daughter's cheek, "I have cried all the tears that I could possibly cry, I had weeks of travelling to do that while I searched you out. With every step I took without my husband Ragnivir by my side I cried, thinking that I've never travelled all that far without him by my side made me cry, looking at my beautiful daughter made me cry….she looks so much like him and the fact that I will never set my eyes on him again – " She started to say but cut herself off with a shake of her head and looked up at Gandalf with an exhausted breath. "I know the consequences of this choice Gandalf, I know that there would be much that I am giving up simply to leave this place that holds so much anger, hate and bloodshed but I must do it. I will truly miss my people…my brothers but the memories haunt me almost every waking moment that I am awake. All I see when I sleep and when I get up is my husband's bloodied body."

Looking at the young mother with sympathetic eyes Gandalf seated himself on a log once again, "What you need my dear is support and understanding of your friends and family." He explained to her carefully, Drifa was already a bit unsteady from the fact that she had to watch her husband get killed and then being attacked while travelling with her very young daughter. "If you seek them out I know you will heal, it may not be this very moment, this week, or even this year but with time and patience I know you will be able to accept and deal with this pain but you cannot do it alone, you will only drive yourself mad if you do so."

Drifa opened her mouth to respond to that but before she was able to do so Gandalf leveled her with a stare that silently told her to be quiet and let him finish what he was saying, Drifa maybe a fierce dwarf maiden who has threatened the most deadly of dwarf warriors and come out unscathed but even she knew when it was time to be quiet and let a wizard speak. Especially when you were asking for a favor from said wizard.

"I will not pretend to understand your pain Drifa," Gandalf spoke as he looked intently into Drifa's dark eyes and gave her a wisp of a sad smile. "I have no spouse so I do not know the pain of losing one, but in the many years, the many eons that I have wandered this world that are terrible and such heinous things that I have seen that I will not speak of, too many." He said to her and closed his eyes for a moment with a wince, remembering all of the events that he has been present for, things that none should have to see or experience. "But no matter the things that we experience we must be strong, count on our friends and family to help us through the bad times. And not act heedlessly." He said with a pointed look, he truly believed that if Drifa could just be convinced to see her friends and family that she would change her mind of leaving and be able to truly accept and deal with what happened – it's not healthy to keep it locked up inside of oneself.

Giving a huff of annoyance Drifa had the urge to growl like a child in frustration, she could not believe that Gandalf things that she has not thought long and hard on what she was asking from him, that she hasn't thought of all of the consequences to leaving Middle-Earth. Because she has, she's had plenty of time to think on this since she lost Ragnivir…god how she missed him, his beautiful blue eyes, his scruffy beard that had dwarven clasps in them, and so many more things. He was her love, her husband and her One.

"Why can't you comprehend that Middle-Earth is one of the reason's that I am in pain Gandalf, that I am hurting deep within." Drifa stated as she placed a hand softly where her heart lay. "I told you that this place holds so much anger, hate and bloodshed and I truly mean that, but it holds memories that hurt me ones that are of when I was happy and of the vicious way in which…..Ragnivir," she choked. "Was killed. I must leave so that I can try and heal myself and so that I can be the mother that my daughter so deserves. I must raise her the way that my husband and I talked about."

Gandalf looked away from Drifa's serious gaze and to the tall trees of Rivendell, to the vast land of the Last Homely House and took a deep breath, to help him think for just a moment. Gandalf may have only met Drifa but a week or so ago but already he could tell that she was quite a woman, she was just as strong and fierce as any other dwarf even if she was only half dwarf. But the dwarf blood that did run through her veins was strong in her. Dwarves were known to be very strong, sturdy and resilient types but even they had their limits and it seems that Drifa has reached her's.

In such a short amount of time Drifa had experienced and had to suffer so much, she was in pain and anyone with half a brain could see that but even with all of the pain that she was in, and the need to leave Middle-Earth as soon as possible Drifa was determined to not let herself succumb completely to her pain. She was a strong dwarf, stubborn, independent and fierce just as she was raised to be like by her two older brother's.

"What of your brothers?" Gandalf questioned suddenly as he gave a soft smile towards baby Brynnhilda who was yawning widely and falling asleep in her mother's arms. "Do Dwalin and Balin not deserve an explanation of why you are doing this?" he asked with a stern look upon his face as he gazed into the young woman's face.

Drifa gave a grimace at the thought of her two brother's finding out about her leaving, both Dwalin and Balin have done so much for her over the decades, the two of them basically raised her when she was but a young dwarfling after their father had died in battle but many thought that he had died of a broken heart after Drifa's mother had died years before. Her brothers have done so much for her and Drifa loved them more than they'll ever realize but she could not stay here any longer, she felt as if there was a sickness living within her and every moment longer that she stated in Middle-Earth the tighter of a hold the sickness had on her.

"I love Dwalin and Balin, they've been one of the few constants in my life," Drifa spoke quietly as she ran her fingers along her daughter's plump cheek and smoothed down tufts of her blonde hair. "But I truly believe that they will be able to get over this….incident, they will be able to deal with this and get on with their lives. They are both very strong dwarf warriors."

When those words left Drifa's mouth Gandalf couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment, thinking the exact opposite of what she was saying. "Like you and your husband?" he pointed out to her a bit cruelly but she needed to see both sides of the coin and realize her leaving would affect people.

Drifa reeled back when Gandalf said that, those words felt as if she had been struck in the chest. "That is different Gandalf and you know it." She told him harshly with an icy glare on her face, that had been an unfair comment for him to use on her. "I had to watch as my husband was tortured by five orc's that invaded our home, I then had to watch as they killed him right in front of myself and my daughter after he managed to gain the upper hand and kill two of them but that wasn't the end of it. They wanted to start with me next and Brynn, so I had to muster up all the courage that I could after just watching my husband being killed and try and kill the remaining orcs all the while keeping my daughter calm." She spoke to him as she felt tears forming in her eyes and did her best to blink them away, she's cried too much already as it is and refused to do so any longer.

Pausing for a calming breath, Drifa continued with her story. "But then as I was travelling, I had no idea where I was going I was just trying to get away from that place, but I ended up getting attacked by horrid men. The Wild Men." She told him darkly with narrowed eyes. "They tried to rape me, even after they saw that I had Brynn with me, they tried to rape me and then said they were going to sell my sweet daughter as a slave for the highest bidder. I wasn't about to let that happen, so I fought with all I had and killed them. I killed those men." She said and sneered the word as if it was a curse, those men that did that to her were not men they had no honor, loyalty or sense of propriety….they were just as bad as orc's.

"Drifa I am sorry, so very sorry." Gandalf said to her honestly, he knew that she had seen many terrible things and losing her husband the way she did was hard but he never expected to hear that she had nearly been raped.

For a moment Drifa just stared at Gandalf, looking into his aged eyes hoping to convey her hopeless feeling and her dread of continuing to remain in Middle-Earth. "Do you understand now? Do you understand why I must leave, at every corner there is danger and I am always seeming to be in the middle of it. My people were attacked by Smaug, our home taken from us and denied the help we so needed from the elves of Mirkwood," she said harshly, she hated the elves of Mirkwood almost just as much as Thorin did. "I lost my husband to Orc's, almost was killed by orc's and then I was almost raped by the wild men." She finished with narrowed eyes and breathing deeply, almost gasping for breaths after that small tirade. "Do I not have reason to ask this of you Gandalf? Do I not have a good enough reason to leave Middle-Earth for the unforeseeable future?" she demanded of him as she gave him a fierce look that only a dwarf woman would be able to pull off. "I ask you to grant me this favor Gandalf, please do not refuse me as the Mirkwood elves did to my people." She said and looked at him pleadingly.

Looking away from Drifa's such sad and hopeless stare Gandalf gave a sigh; he was at a loss for words and was unsure how to respond to Drifa's admission. He wished to give in to what she was asking of him, Gandalf truly did and he felt for her plight but he thought that if he was to agree that later on as the years passed for Drifa, that she would soon live to regret this request.

"Drifa I-" Gandalf started to speak but was interrupted by a sound coming from within the woods.

Both Gandalf and Drifa looked towards the woods where the sound was coming from, they knew that there was no possibility of it being an Orc seeing as they were far too close to Rivendell for that to be a possibility – the elves guarded their home as a dwarf would their treasure. Their wonder at what could be making the noise was soon answered as a small statured figure walked out of the woods and into the small clearing that both Gandalf and Drifa were in with a purpose; a full blooded female dwarf with wild, fiery red hair that had a determined look on her face.

"Agertha!" Drifa said suddenly with wide eyes as she looked at her longtime friend, not being able to believe that she was standing right there in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

With hands on her hips and an unimpressed look on her face the red head, Agertha, gave Drifa a look. "I'm here for you. I can't believe you were going to try and leave without even saying good bye to me." She stated to her simply as she attempted to keep her serious face on but it soon melted off and she strode over to her friend and gave her a supportive hug being careful of the baby that was still in her friend's hold. "Gandalf sent for me." She said simply.

That resulted in Drifa looking at Gandalf with an appalled expression, "How dare you!" she stated and walked over to Gandalf with a glare on her face, not believing that he had sent for her friend to, what Drifa assumed, was to convince her to not wish to leave. "I cannot believe that you brought her here, without asking or even telling me. This…you are…..for Mahal's sake." She said and threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"Drifa do not condemn him for only wishing to aid you," Agertha stated in a calm but strong tone of voice, forcing her friend to reluctantly turn away from Gandalf and look at her friend. "You should have come to me after this happened, you should have come to the Blue Mountain's." she told her and looked into her eyes with a furrowed curious brow. "Why did you not seek me out?" she asked. "I care for you as if you were my sister Drifa, you are the sister I never had and would do so much for you. We even managed to 'borrow' Thror's crown. You are stuck with me by your side, as your confidant and your friend." She told her.

At that Drifa gave a weak laugh and wiped at the few tears that managed to escape after Agertha's heartfelt statement, the two have been together ever since either could remember. They've been the closest of friends and the best of friends since they were but dwarflings, always doing things together and often times getting in trouble or pulling a few pranks on Dwalin and Balin as they had been growing up.

"I know Aggie," Drifa said with a hint of regret in her voice and took a moment to clear her throat from roughness and looked at Gandalf with hopefulness; he was her last option for a better life for herself and her daughter. "Please Gandalf, I am quite literally begging you to do this favor for me." She told him and looked at him with a pained face. "I need to leave here, I need to leave Middle-Earth and start a new life with my daughter. If I stay here for too much longer the memories of my mind, and the fact that I know what is here waiting just around the corner for the right moment to attack, it will drive me to madness." She said to him as she clutched her daughter just a bit closer to her person. "My soul is in pain Gandalf, it is not just my heart but my soul as well. I can feel it. I am a broken woman Gandalf, I lost my husband and have had to endure retched things and I need to heal my mind and soul and in order to do that I must leave here." She said and paused for a moment to gather herself. "It's what is best for me and Brynn."

Gandalf shifted his wooden staff from where he was holding it in the ground to laying across his lap and looked intently into Drifa's eyes, wanting to see if she was truly serious about this or if she was overreacting. "You speak of understanding the consequences, of knowing what you are willingly giving up but do you truly?" he questioned her as he looked into her eyes with gravity. "If I do this feat of magic like you are asking me to do, which will take quite a deal of magic, you may never see your friends and family that still remain here." He stated to her in a straightforward fashion, better to be up front about things rather than beat around the bush and have a chance at people getting confused.

"Then so be it!" Drifa stated and looked at her friend Agertha and at Gandalf with seriousness in her eyes.

As this exchange was going on Agertha was watching her friend closely, and listening to her word. It was easy to see that Drifa was in deep pain from what happened to her, that she was scarred on the inside from the things that she had to see and for what she had to do and that she truly and completely believed that she needed to leave Middle-Earth completely in order to get better and accept all that has happened and try and attempt to be the same person that she was before these things happened to her. Agertha knew that this may be the only possible way for Drifa to deal with everything.

Agertha looked at Drifa with a gentle look on her face, she needed to be careful with how she worded her next thoughts to Drifa. "What about Dwalin, and Balin?" she asked as she looked into her dark eyes. "What do you wish to be told to them?"

"Let them think that Brynn and I died along with my husband," Drifa said reluctantly with a tight throat, it hurt her to say that and to let her family think that of herself and Brynn but it was what needed to be done. "It will be easier for them to get over me and Brynn if they think we died rather than left Middle-Earth without a word."

She didn't want to cause her brother any undue pain but…..but it would be easiest for all involved if it played out like this, that Dwalin and Balin thought that she and Brynnhilda perished along with her husband in their house. It would be hard for them, she was not a fool to think that it would not be but it would be easier for them to accept.

"You are serious about this." Gandalf said more to himself than to Drifa.

"Of course I am!" Drifa stated loudly which startled baby Brynn who started to cry a bit, to which Drifa looked down at her daughter and apologized to her for scaring her and started to sway her in her arms before looking at Gandalf. "I know that you two are trying to help me, to make me understand what I will be losing if I go along this path but understand that this is not something that I just want to do but need to do." She said and looked at Agertha with tear filled eyes as she remembered everything that's been happening. "If you wish to help me Aggie, if you really wish to help me please support me and help me escape from this place. From this horrid, bloodied place." She said and looked desperately at Gandalf and tried to calm her daughter down who could probably sense all of the intense emotions that were going around in the wooded area. "You have the power Gandalf, even if you do not like to admit to others how much power you truly wield." She said and leveled the elder looking wizard with a knowing look, it was no secret among the people of Middle-Earth that wizards are very powerful beings but do not release their true potential unless they are in dire situations. "The only thing that this world now holds for me now is pain….pain and suffering. And not just because of what happened to me, but also because of what happened to my people." She stated and shared a look of understanding with Agertha, who recalled the travesty of Erebor, or Smaug coming and taking their home from them.

"Drifa," Agertha started but stopped herself when she saw the strong look of emotion that was on Drifa's face, she needed to get whatever was on her chest off and at the moment telling Gandalf and Agertha was how she was going to do it.

Drifa took a deep calming breath, brushed some of her dark hair out of her face and continued with what she had been saying. "I don't want to be afraid of stepping outside of my own home; I don't want to fear for my daughter's safety every time she is out in the woods or outside playing and being a child." She said with a decisive shake of her head. "I want to be carefree, or rather as carefree as I can be, I don't want to be afraid of what creatures may lurk outside my door. I deserve to have happiness, or what little I can now find since I no longer have Ragnivir." She stated darkly and shook her head to herself, clearing her thoughts of the bloodied image of her husband that suddenly popped into her mind. "Middle-Earth is not my home any longer, not for me at least."

After that passionate speech Agertha couldn't help but let out a shaky breath, Drifa knew how hard it has been for her, Drifa and many other dwarves to find their happiness in the world nowadays. Erebor was taken out from under them by a dragon that went by the name of Smaug, he cruelly ripped their lives out from under them and all that was left was a people that had once been proud but now were homeless and wandering the country side looking for a way to survive. The people of Erebor had to take jobs where they could find them, wandering in small villages or working in grand cities of man doing.

Thorin attempted to be the leader that the dwarves of Erebor needed and deserved, and he succeeded to a point. They had a home in the Blue Mountain's and where they had lived content lives and were comfortable but it was not home to the majority of them. No matter how much Thorin tried he could not fix the broken souls of the dwarves.

"Oh Drifa," Agertha stated with a sad look on her face and quickly walked over to where her friend was leaning against a tree and grasped her on either side of the face and kissed her forehead and then pulled her into a hug once again, she hoped that it was enough to show her friend how sorry she was for her and that she cared for her. "I am so sorry, so sorry that all of this has happened to you." She stated and released Drifa from her grasped and smiled gently at her and Brynn who was now sleeping peacefully. "I know I cannot change what has already happened but I will stand by you and support your choice."

Sighing heavily Gandalf looked from Drifa to Agertha and back a few times before he gave a resigned nod of the head, he knew no matter what he may say or how long he tried to convince Drifa otherwise that she would still think that leaving was the best option. And maybe she was right, from what Gandalf had seen so far, and how distraught she has been since arriving in Rivendell with Gandalf, leaving Middle-earth and all of its creatures behind may be just the right kind of healing that Drifa needs. He only hoped that this would not backfire and that Drifa would eventually regret this choice.

"I will do as you ask Drifa," Gandalf said suddenly to Drifa who looked at him with surprised wide eyes, not believing that she actually was able to convince the wizard to see her side of things and send her away. "I will send you and Brynn away, to a different world as you asked of me. But you will have to deal with the consequences of this choice." He said to her.

Unable to contain herself, Drifa handed Brynn over to Agertha and grasped Gandalf in a thankful hug, she was more than grateful to him for what he is offering her, and for agreeing to her request. "Thank you Gandalf. I truly appreciate this." She told him as she released him from her rather strong hold. "I really do."

Gandalf looked down at her with a nod, "I know." He stated to her. "I only wish for you to get better my dear."

Agertha who was holding baby Brynn kissed the little girl on the forehead before turning towards where Gandalf and Drifa were standing with a smirk on her face, "So," she stated. "When do we leave?" she asked simply.

Hearing that Drifa suddenly turned towards her friend sharply with a confused expression, unsure if she wanted to believe what she was hearing. "Us?" she questioned and studied her for a moment. "No, no, no, no, no. Aggie you can't come with me," she told her seriously as she waved her hands around spiritedly. "I will miss you deeply, you are a true friend but I can't ask you to give up your life here just to come with myself and Brynn."

"Don't try and change my mind Drifa, you know how stubborn I am." Agertha stated to Drifa with a pointed look and one hand on her hip. "I'm not giving you a choice in leaving without me, Durin knows what kind of trouble you may land yourself in. Beside I would miss you and this little sweet thing too much," she said as she lightly tapped Brynn on the nose making her scrunch up her face in an adorable fashion. "You may have intended on leaving this world with only your daughter to accompany you but I am sorry to ruin those plans but I am coming with whether you want me to or not."

Looking at the two dwarven women Gandalf addressed Agertha, "You willingly follow her?" he asked looking towards Drifa for a moment before returning his gaze to red headed Agertha. "You are willing to give up the life you have here….and the ones that you hold dear?"

Attempting to change her friend's mind, Drifa grasped Agertha around the arm. "No Aggie, you can't do this." She told her with a look of worry. "You have a life here a-" she began to say but was cut off by her said friend responding to Gandalf.

"I go where she goes," Agertha said fiercely, ignoring Drifa's protests.

"Agertha! No!" Drifa said and looked into her friend's blue eyes with unbridled shock and astonishment. "I can't allow you to do that Aggie, I can't. You have a life here, one that you are happy with and I can't with a clear conscience let you just drop everything to go with me and Brynn." She told her sadly, she wished that her friend could come with her but the truth was that Agertha had a life here….in the Blue Mountains and it would be unfair to ask her to come with. "What of Thorin?" she questioned as she looked at her friend curiously. "You both care deeply for one and another, it is obvious for all to see."

With a downcast expression Agertha gave a tight smile to Drifa and shrugged, "I care for him, more than anyone else that I have ever known or had romantic interest in." she admitted to her and took a deep breath. "He…Thorin is occupied as of late, he does not have time for anything but helping our people and building a life for them. I am sad to say but our time has passed by, and I am unwilling to wait for him any longer. As much as I love and care for him, I cannot wait. You are more important." She stated with a soft tone of voice and gently laid Brynn back in her mother's arms. "You and Brynnhilda."

"There is not any point in me trying to argue with you is there?" Drifa asked her with a thankful yet guilty look on her face for the fact that she was taking Agertha from her home.

Agertha gave a grin and shook her head, her hair and braids flying everywhere. "Not really no, I wouldn't listen to you even if you did try and argue with me." She replied to her and crossed her arms in a victorious way.

Drifa felt guilty for the fact that her friend was dropping everything that she's ever known just to come along with her, but at the same time she was glad that she would have Agertha with her to help her through things and to experience this new path in life with her.

"Can we leave tonight?" Drifa asked as she looked up at Gandalf, the sooner they could leave the better it was.

Hearing that Gandalf couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her eagerness, "As skilled of a wizard as I am, not even I can muster magic such as we need in order to send you away from here this night." He explained to her as he stood up from his seat on the log that he has been sitting on for too long of a time. "I assure you that you will leave within a month's time, less if I can manage." He said with an amused smile at her disappointed frown. "I need to gather the necessary supplies in order to be sure that we are successful with this feat of magic." he told them with a tired tone of voice, he and Drifa have been talking for a good long while before Agertha had joined them, he needed a good glass of wine to relax with for a while. "I must leave you both now, I must speak to Elrond of preparations." He stated and laid a gentle hand on both Agertha and Drifa's shoulders and then left through the woods towards the heart of Rivendell.

Once Gandalf had left and the two had soaked in what had just happened Agertha immediately took Brynn back into her arms, she's barely seen the little girl all that much. It was easy to see that Brynnhilda took after her father quite a bit; she had his hair color, his light colored skin tone, and Agertha was pretty sure that the baby gave her a smile that seemed eerily familiar to Ragnivir's. It was safe to say that the little girl was the female version of him, the only differences were that Brynn had her mother's dark eyes and wild curly hair.

"Soon Brynn," Drifa stated as she walked closer to Agertha as they slowly made their way back to the Last Homely House. "Soon we will have a new life, a better life." she stated and leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Thorin ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It's been weeks since Agertha disappeared, the one woman who was able to put up with Thorin's attitude which not many people were able to do, and the one woman who Thorin had actually seriously considered marrying. And now, the woman who he loved very deeply but never told so, had disappeared without a trace. Many thought that she had disappeared off into the wilderness after learning about the news of Drifa, Ragnivir and their daughter Brynnhilda's death which had come to pass not but two months ago….which Dwalin and Balin were still attempting to deal with and accept that it happened. Thorin along with a few others – Dwalin, Balin and Dori had decided to go off and search for Agertha in hopes of finding the distraught woman, the wilderness was no place for an emotional female dwarf who had just lost her best friend.

"For Mahal's sake!" Thorin yelled with anger and frustration in his voice and kicked at the ground harshly, sending rocks flying up into the air. "Where could that woman have gone? It's not like she could have traveled that far without a pony to rude upon. We've searched every possible place that she may have gone, but yet, there is not a sign of her. No one has seen hide nor hair of her." he stated and hit his fists against his pant clad legs, he was beyond angry at the fact that they were unable to find Agertha, he….he needed to tell her something and let her know that he loved her, and actually say it out loud to her.

While Thorin was having a small break down right in the middle of Enedwaith both Dwalin and Balin watched with understanding eyes, Thorin may not have lost Agertha to death as both Dwalin and Balin had with Drifa and her family but she was still nowhere to be found. Dwalin wished to console his friend, to help him but he could not, not at this moment in time. Not when the death of his sister, brother in law and baby niece were so fresh in his mind. When Drifa had been a young dwarfling she would escape from whoever had been watching her while Dwalin was working or training on the fields, and she would come see him and Balin and would bring the two of them flower crowns….and no matter how warrior like the two of them were they would wear those crowns proudly because it was Drifa who made them.

"Curse all to the deepest pit of mount doom!" Thorin yelled up into the air and then threw the small axe that he had at a tree that was nearby with a sense of despair and breathed in deeply doing his best to calm himself down but he was in no state to do so, he was angry and distraught it was plain to see on his face.

Thorin wasn't exactly the type to wear his feelings on his sleeve, nor the kind who dealt with them all that well but when he had met Agertha he did his best to change that. He tried so hard when it came to her; he tried harder than he ever had in all his life. Thorin truly loved Agertha, he loved her with all he had but he had never once uttered the words…..they were unspoken between the two of them. Agertha had been his pillar, his person to go to when he needed to vent about the day's events, about anything that crossed his mind really but then Erebor happened, and his father had all but lost his mind and that resulted in Thorin spending less and less time until he and Agertha had become cross with one and another. They went their separate ways, but Thorin hoped that once he had finished with his last trading deal with the neighboring people that he could go to her, and woo his way back into her heart.

"Thorin," Dwalin stated gruffly, doing his hardest to contain his own fluctuating emotions from thinking of his own family, now the only family he had left was Balin. "We have searched many lands, for weeks now Thorin, we have combed through everywhere that she could possibly be and asked all that we've come upon if they've seen her." he said to his good friend, trying to reason with him. "If Aggie doesn't want to be found, she won't be. We cannot continue this."

"No," Thorin said with a violent shake of his head and pulled at his hair harshly, unsure of what he was supposed to do now, he wanted to find Agertha but he also needed to be a leader to his people. "I will not give up, I can't give up on her again." He said with a guilty look on his face for the way he treated her in the last few years. "I must find her, I love her. I need her." he finished softly as he walked over to the tree that he had embedded his axe into.

Unable to deny his friend this small favor Dwalin gave a sigh and he, Balin and Dori continued on for a few more weeks searching for Agertha, hoping against hope that they will be able to find Agertha. But as the searching went on it soon became obvious that they were not going to find Agertha no matter how hard they searched for her, they searched for almost a month longer and decided to call off the search. If Agertha was anywhere in Middle-Earth she was not about to be found, and would only reveal herself when she so chose. With how close she was with Drifa, it wouldn't be too surprising if she had gone off into hiding to live the solitary life – she was like a sister to the girl.

Arriving back at their home, or rather the home that they were able to build after Erebor had fallen prey to the dragon. It wasn't like living in Erebor, but they all had a decent life living in the Blue Mountains – they were happy, for the most part and made a decent living. It wasn't truly a home to them but it was as close as they could get to one.

"Dwalin!" A feminine voice called out from a passageway as he, Thorin, Balin and Dori had only just returned back from their long mission. "Please, come here."

Turning down the passageway where a good amount of candle's were lit so that a person could see as they made their way down it, he came upon an open area that was brightly lit, it faced away from the mountain and had a rather large window that let natural light in. Sitting upon a couch was Dis, Thorin's younger sister, and along with her were her son's Fili who was blonde and the oldest who looked to be seven or eight in human years and then there was Kili who had black hair like his mother and seemed to look about three years old in human years.

Dwalin came up to Dis and gave a small bow to her, "Hello Dis," he stated quietly, he's often found himself speaking quietly and unable to be his usual rowdy self. "Fili, Kili," he said as he gave a halfhearted attempt at a smile at the two young dwarflings who just grinned at him widely.

"Please, sit with me." Dis all but demanded as she patted the cushion of the couch next to her and gave Dwalin a 'no arguing with me' sort of look. "You look as if a pack of wargs have attacked you and then was stepped on by Oliphants." She stated to him bluntly as she took in his haggard and tired face while she held Kili in her arms and attempted to brush out his hair – he was a stubborn child.

At that statement Dwalin gave a tired sigh and basically slumped into the furniture, "We searched the lands, as far as we could possibly imagine but there was naught but a sign of her being anywhere." He answered and let out a large breath and ran his hands over his head. "We lose my sister and then not even a few weeks later Agertha goes missing, I can't handle this Dis, we have been losing too many things in such a short amount of time."

Dis looked at Dwalin with apologetic eyes; life has not been kind to the man in the last few years. She felt for him, she truly did but there was very little that she was able to do to console him – he as angry, frustrated and distraught and rightfully so and still needed time in order to grieve. Going on a hunt for Agertha with Thorin was not exactly a productive time for Dwalin, he needed to grieve for Drifa, Brynnhilda and Ragnivir. Balin as well, both brother's had been terribly affected by the loss of their sister and her family.

"I miss her," Dis stated quietly and leaned down and kissed the top of Kili's head, who scrunched up his small face and swatted at her which just made Dis give a soft smile. "I may not have been as close to your sister as Agertha was but I still considered her a friend. She is," Dis grimaced before correcting herself. "Was a strong dwarf, fierce, determined and trustworthy." She spoke and gave a sideways smile towards Dwalin. "Just like her brother's raised her to be." She stated which gained a half smile from the larger dwarf. "She loved you very much Dwalin, and thought of you and Balin as father figure's when your father had passed and always tried to make you two proud of her."

Hearing that Dwalin swallowed the lump that was in his throat, "She did, she made both Bali and I proud. Ten times over." He replied without daring to look at Dis for fear she could see how affected her still is, fear that she could see all of the pain and anger he held inside. "I was proud of how she fought, proud of the woman she became and of her family." He said and clenched his jaw for a moment before continuing. "Brynn, her daughter, I wished to teach that girl so much. Ragnivir, Balin and I were going to teach her to fight as good as any man could – she would become a fierce woman warrior. No one would expect it from her." he said with a grin on his face. "I only met her but once, and now….now I will not hold her ever again."

Dis took a good long look at Dwalin before she started to speak again, "I know this is a very trying time for you Dwalin, for you and Balin both but you need to have a proper chance to mourn all that has happened. Trust me Dwalin, I know what you are going through." She replied to him, remembering her husband's death that only happened a few years past. "It is hard, it won't get better for a while but eventually you come to terms and accept the events that unfolded. It was not your fault, what happened to your sister." She said with a serious look on her face as she looked into Dwalin's intimidating eyes, but to her they were just eyes. "You cannot control the actions of others, only yourself."

That may be true, what Dis said, but in Dwalin's mind it was partly his fault. It was his baby sister who had died and he had not been there to protect her and her daughter and to help Ragnivir fight off the Orc's.

"How is Thorin?" Dis asked deciding to change the subject. "Is he…..is he handling things okay?" she asked curiously.

When she had asked that Dwalin hesitated for a moment, he was unsure of how he was supposed to answer that simply yet loaded question. "He is full of anger and regret and he does not know what to do with himself. He is angry that he allowed this to happen and that he and Agertha parted in such an angry way." He told her simply and honestly, Dis was a smart woman and would have been able to see through his lie. "Thorin loved her and regrets not letting her know." He said as she grabbed a toy that was out of reach of Fili and handed it the small blonde headed boy. "It will take time for him to come to terms."

It was not too soon after that when Dwalin left Dis, using the excuse of having to pick a new weapon up but it was really because he just wanted to be alone. Dwalin just wanted to go to his room and be alone, have time to deal with all that has happened with his sister and then with Agertha.

Life will not be the same for a long while.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~Author's Note _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

A/N: So there was Chapter one, the revised version and I like it oh so much better than the first two versions I did, I truly do. It flows so much better and yeah. So anywho I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it and fixing it from the original ones that I had done.

Quote1: "If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him."  
― Paulo Coelho, _By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept_

Quote 2: "Pain is the feeling. Suffering is the effect the pain inflicts. If one can endure pain, one can live without suffering. If one can withstand pain, one can withstand anything. If one can learn to control pain, one can learn to control oneself. "  
― James Frey, _My Friend Leonard_


	2. Chapter 2: Revised

Disclaimer: As usual I do not own any familiar characters, just the ones that i come up with.

A/N: As always I appreciate review's and hope you enjoy this chapter of mine, i enjoyed writing Fili and Kili and their interaction with their mother, I know it's a bit short but i jsut wanted to give you guys a glimpse.

Chapter two

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Middle-Earth: Present Day: Blue Mountain's ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The heirs of Durin, Fili a young blonde haired dwarf with some facial hair on his face, and Kili, the younger dark haired brother of Fili who had some scruff growing on his face, were facing the wrath of their mother at the moment. They only just told her that they were leaving that day to join their uncle on his quest to Erebor. It was safe to say that their mother was none too happy about this choice of theirs.

"How dare he! How dare he do this," Dis stated as she paced angrily in front of her two sons, her black hair flying around her shoulders as she moved, she was beyond angry with her brother and if he had been standing in front of her at the moment she would not hesitate to strangle him. "He has no right in asking you two, my only children, to go on a reckless adventure with him that has a high possibility of being futile. Smaug may still reside within the mountain. That man has gone completely mad!" she yelled with a scowl on her face and threw her hands up in frustration.

At that both Fili and Kili exchanged unsure glances with one and another, silently having a conversation and nod of heads as to who should be the first one to speak to their mother and attempt to calm her down from the obvious anger she was feeling, and possibly try and make her see their reasoning's for wishing to go on this quest with their uncle. To see that retaking Erebor was worth it.

"Mother, please-" Fili started to say as he reached an arm out towards her and laid it on her shoulder.

Quickly turning when Fili spoke Dis looked at him with narrowed eyes and shook her head, "Don't mother me," she stated to him in a deadly serious tone of voice and then looked between him and Kili for a few moments before giving a shake of her head. "You are my son's, not Thorin's. I birthed you, cared for you, fed you and you decide to go on a beyond dangerous adventure with him?" she questioned.

There were so many thought's going through Dis' head at the moment, and quite a few choice words for her dear older brother…..a majority of them curse words at the gall he had to ask her son's to go on this quest for Erebor without even telling her that he was going to do so. Dis missed Erebor just as much as the next dwarf, even more so since she was the granddaughter of the king and she missed the home that she once had there; she missed the grand halls, the vast library, the festive celebrations and parties that they had and so many more things.

By Mahal, Dis wished deeply to have that life once again and she truly believed in the task of retaking Erebor, but she did not want it to be retaken on the lives of her son's. Fili and Kili were all Dis had left of her late husband who died after Smaug had attacked Erebor, and no matter how much she wished to reclaim Erebor she could not….would not lose her son's because of her brother's need to take back their kingdom. Dis valued her son's lives much too much to wish for them to risk it on a venture such as this.

"Mother," Kili stated as he walked up to his mother and carefully took her hands in his much rougher ones and looked into her eyes. "I know that you do not like this, and do not want us to waste our lives on a quest like this, taking Erebor back once and for all." He spoke to her passionately and paused for a moment before continuing on. "Fili and I both knew that you would not support this adventure of uncle's but we grew up hearing stories about Erebor, of how wondrous it had been, how grand and prosperous it was. We may have never seen Erebor with our own two eyes but we wish to take it back from the terror Smaug, it is rightfully our kingdom and it's high time that we take it back." He said to her passionately.

Fili nodded in agreement with what his younger brother had said, "Yes mother, too long our people have not felt complete, they have been homeless and wandered the country side and some still do because of what happened after Smaug attacked. Our people had nothing, and uncle Thorin managed to lead them and create a life for everyone, but not everyone recovered." He stated with a downcast expression. "Reclaiming Erebor as ours, as it was meant to be, would be a way to help those that still feel incomplete and homeless."

Hearing the passion in both of her son's voices Dis gave a heavy sigh and looked at the two of them closely, they've grown so much over the years and have turned out to be quite brave, strong, and fierce dwarves and Dis is proud of them for that fact. They are no longer little dwarflings anymore, but strong dwarfs who have the right to join in on their uncle's quest and retake the kingdom that they've heard so many stories about as they were growing up.

"It is not that I do not believe in this quest," Dis said softly as she laid a hand on each of her son's cheeks and gently caressed them with the pad of her thumb. "I miss my home dearly, I miss Erebor but I value your twos life much too much. I do not want you to die on this quest of your uncle's. It is a worthy cause, but I am your mother and I will worry over you and I worry that you will get yourselves into trouble that you will not be able to make it out of." She told them with a tight smile and gave a small sniffle at the thought of never seeing either of her boys ever again – they were her world.

When their mother said that Fili immediately looked at his mother searchingly, "You don't need to worry about us mother, we were trained by the best of the best. Dwalin, Balin and uncle Thorin trained us in fighting hand to hand and in swordplay, and Gloin taught us how to use a battle axe." He stated to her, hoping that pointing out all of these things would ease her mind. "Believe me mother, Kili and I will come back to you alive, alive and well."

Kili grinned widely as he threw an arm around his brother's neck and looked into his mother's dark blue eyes, "Trust me mother, you cannot get rid of us that easily. No matter how often Fili and I get on your nerves at times and make you want to pull your hair out." He joked to her with a playful look on his face.

As much as Dis wished she had a good reason to keep them from going on this quest, she knew in her heart that she did not and she needed to let them go and do this with their uncle and whatever other dwarves were willing to join the cause.

"You two better be careful," Dis said suddenly with a resigned tone of voice as she looked sternly at her two sons. "And you better take care of yourselves and look after one and another," she stated as she gave an extra-long look to her eldest Fili, silently telling him to watch out for his younger brother. "And please, if your uncle comes up with a plan sounds so completely mad and impossible do not go along with it. His pride and the fact that he has no sense of self-preservation at times will be the death of him and I would rather that you do not meet your own demise along with him."

Hearing that both Fili and Kili looked at their mother with wide, shocked eyes that she had agreed to letting them go, they would have gone either way but prefer to have her consent to going rather than her being angry at them for going against her wishes. It was a very dangerous adventure, so Dis did have a right in wishing them to not go on such a quest.

"Don't worry mother," Fili stated as he came forward and wrapped his arms around his mother in a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "We'll come back to you, and I'll make sure to keep Kili out of trouble. We both know how he is." He said with a wink.

At that Kili rolled his eyes and pushed his brother playfully once he had let go of their mother, "I don't find trouble, trouble finds me." He said defending himself. "I haven't an idea what that one is talking about." He said with a gesture towards Fili, to which Dis responded by giving a bit of a girlish giggle that did not sound like herself at all.

Dis shook her head at the bantering antics of her two sons, they may be adults now and know when it was time to be serious and drop the act but she did love to see them acting like they were now. Carefree.

"The both of you always find trouble, you are two peas in a pod." Dis stated with a gentle smile before she stepped forward and pulled her youngest, and the more troublesome one into a tight hug. "I want you to promise me something Kili." She said looking at him seriously.

Hearing her tone of voice Kili looked his mother in the eyes and gave a nod, "Anything." He spoke softly, waiting for whatever it was that she wanted him to promise her.

Dis carefully took off a necklace that she had been wearing and then pressed it into his hands, "You must promise that you will come back to me, the both of you." She stated as she looked from Kili to Fili. "I am trusting you with this, the gift that your father gave me on our wedding day in hopes that I will see you again someday soon." She told him.

"Mother," Fili stated as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder, in a loving fashion. "We will come back."

Instead of replying to Fili's statement, Dis instead looked to her younger son. "Kili, promise me." She said to him with a concerned tone of voice. "Promise me that you will return to me. Alive."

Seeing the seriousness in his mother's eyes Kili nodded at her before wrapping his finger's around the stone token that his mother bestowed upon him, "I will come back mother." He told her in a voice barely above a whisper and gave her a half-hearted smile, they both knew in the back of their minds that there was a good chance that he and Fili may not come back but a little white lie to ease their hearts was better than nothing.

Dis gave a small smile at that, glad that her son was taking this seriously and then she turned to look at her eldest son with a stern look. "Fili, you better make sure that you keep yourself alive as well, I am not giving you something to ensure that you make it and come back to me." She said to him. "You have Gyda to do that, come back to your intended Fili."

"Nothing will be able to stop me from coming back to her." Fili replied.

With that said Fili and Kili spent their last few hours in the Blue Mountain's getting ready for their adventure, saying one last good bye to their mother, and Fili visited his intended one last time before he would be separated from her for who knows how many months. But one this was for sure and that was that Fili would come back to her.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Author's Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

So I know this chapter was a bit short, and not nearly the sort of length I usually aim for when I write but it was a short chapter that needed to be written and I hope you enjoy seeing into the relationship that Fili and Kili have with their mother. She's fun to write, or at least how I portray her as she is.

Quote 1:  
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."  
― Washington Irving

Quote 2: "Perhaps it takes courage to raise children.."  
― John Steinbeck, _East of Eden_


	3. Chapter 3: Revised

Disclaimer: As usual i do not own anything from the Hobbit, though if they gave me a Kili i would be okay with that.

A/N: here is the next revised chapter for my story, i hope you like it i've worked on it for at least three to six hours just to get it out to you wonderful people. and i do love it so.

Chapter three

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Present Day: Earth ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

So many years have passed since Drifa, Agertha and Brynn had come to live in this different world, seventy-four in fact, and so they've made a home on this world that was simply called Earth. Even as the years passed by and Brynn grew each and every single day Drifa still could not help but feel the loss and pain that were weaved into her soul, she tried so hard to deal with all of her problems, to overcome the bad and vicious things that had happened in her life but Drifa was still unable to cope…especially with the loss of her husband. But Drifa hid that fact well.

Even with the pain that she suffered through almost each and every day, Drifa managed to raise Brynn to be a strong, fierce, independent and able bodied woman, with the help of Agertha. Brynn may be the type of person that she's always hoped and dreamed of her daughter being….of what she and Ragnivir had hoped she would be but Drifa had lacked quite a bit in teaching her important things that she should have known. She knew that she should have taught her daughter things about Middle-Earth which is where she was originally from, and about her own culture, about the dwarves but it pained Drifa to think about and she was unable to do so. It was wrong, it was in poor taste of her to do this to her own flesh and blood but Drifa couldn't help it, she taught Brynn the bare minimum of what she needed to know, but any more than that and it brought pain to Drifa's memory so she chose not to tell her daughter anything else. Agertha didn't agree with that fact but she accepted it, no matter how much she wanted to fight it.

"I'm sorry Ragnivir," Drifa said to herself as she sat on the porch of the house she, Agertha and Brynn lived in, far removed from the closest town and surrounded by woods which hid their home from view of any overly curious neighbors. "I am sorry for not living up to all that you would have wished for our daughter." She said with a disappointed shake of the head.

Sometimes Drifa thought that Brynn was much too much like her father at times; she was just as stubborn as him, and hard headed, playful and enjoyed bantering a bit too much and could be a bit devious at times even and someday Drifa loved that about her daughter, that she had so much of her father in her without even being able to know him. But there were other days when both Drifa and Agertha were at their wits end with the girl when she was acting like her father, especially when she was doing something that she wasn't supposed to or when she decided to go off on her own adventure into the woods behind their house at the age of five or so in human years….for five days.

Looking away from the carving of a Hippogriff that she was doing – a half eagle and half horse mythical creature of this world, Drifa looked towards the tree line of the woods with a knowing smile. Sometimes Drifa thought her daughter would become one with the woods seeing as she seemed to spend all of her free time in there.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Deep in the Forest _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Laying down in a low tree branch of a tree that was in view of a nice sized house was a young woman, Brynn, who looked to be in her mid-twenties at the oldest but seeing as she was part dwarf she was more so closer to being in her early seventies than anything else. Brynn had long, messy curly blonde hair that was of a light golden blonde color, had darkest of brown eyes that very much resembled her mother's and was a bit on the pale side. This young dwarf, Brynn was also rather short which considering what her race was, was quite common with her people, and she was most definitely curvy and had a bit of meat on her bones compared to all of the model types of this world who were always striving to be as skinny as they could be – very unrealistic and unhealthy at the same time.

"Ugh," Brynn said with a groan as she threw her arm over her eyes.

Today was the anniversary of her father's death and Brynn had been thinking hard of that fact, there were so many things that she wondered about…about him. Often she wondered if life would have been different if her father would have lived through the Orc attack, she wondered that if he had lived if she, her mother and Agertha would still be living in Middle-Earth, if her mother would be happy – her mother may think that she can hide it but Brynn can tell that she isn't truly happy and that she is just putting on a façade for her and Agertha's sake.

What Brynn wanted most though, was to learn more about her people and her birth world, she's tried over the years to pry more information out of her mother but it always ended up in a fight between the two of them and those were not a pretty sight to see. Both Drifa and Brynn were stubborn and hard headed; it didn't always play out well.

"Brynn!" The very familiar voice of Agertha yelled up the tree that Brynn was currently residing in. "Brynnhilda!"

Instead of answering Brynn kept quiet and closed her eyes as she breathed in the air, she wasn't really in the mood deal with anyone not even Agertha. Brynn was feeling rather odd, but she blamed that on the fact of the anniversary of her father's death was today and no matter how much she tried to urge her mother to talk about her dad….she thought it would help, her mother adamantly refused and walked off to be alone for a while.

"Brynn!" Agertha's annoyed voice yelled up at her once again. "I know you're up there so stop ignoring me child," she spoke and Brynn was sure that if she looked down towards the ground she would see Agertha with her arms crossed looking up at the tree. "Brynn I can see your leg hanging off the side of the branch." Agertha deadpanned.

Hearing that Brynn gave an amused bark of laughter before she turned her head towards the edge of the branch and leaned a bit over so that she could look at Agertha, "Hey Agertha." Brynn said to her softly and gave her an expectant look. "Somethin' that you need?" she questioned. "I don't want to be rude Aggie but I really just want to be alone right now."

Agertha threw her wild red hair over one shoulder and looked up at the tree branch that Brynn was currently lying on and shook her head at the young dwarf, this day was always hard for the three of them and all of the memories that it brought. But she did her hardest to try and keep their spirits up; or rather keep Brynn's up. Over the years, no matter what Agertha tried to do to keep Drifa's mind off of her deceased husband nothing worked and the dark haired dwarf usually lashed out at her so instead of trying help her childhood friend Agertha instead tries to help Brynn.

"Sorry Brynn but you're not going to be getting your alone time," Agertha stated as she looked up at the tree branch with a smirk on her face and hands on her hips with her resolved face in place. "Come on," she said patting her leg. "Climb yourself down that tree."

At that Brynn gave a loud groan and sat up a bit more and looked down at Agertha with a somewhat annoyed expression, "Agertha," she said with a hint of a whine. "Come on, can we just do this a different day. Please?" she asked her, she knew what Agertha was trying to do, she does this every year and every year Brynn gives in but not this year, this time she just wanted some time alone.

Agertha bent down where she was standing and picked up a small pebble and chucked it at Brynn, and smiled when it hit her right in the side of the head.

"Ow!" Brynn stated sitting all the way up and glaring down at Agertha in annoyance, and rubbing the side of her head where the pebble hit her. "What was that for?" she questioned her.

"To get your attention." Agertha said simply with a shrug of her shoulders. "Now come on, get down from that tree and walk with me." She stated in a voice that gave no room for argument.

Brynn gave the woman who was like an aunt to her a dark look for that, she may be a dwarf and can take more than a bit of pain but Agertha could throw hard and those little pebbles felt like needles when they were thrown hard enough. "Aggie come on-"

Before Brynn was able to finish that one sentence Agertha broke in and shook her head adamantly, "Now Brynn." She told her softly but with an edge to her voice. "Or else I'll make you train today instead." She offered to her.

Hearing that Brynn gave a grimace, she was sick of training all of the time even if it was for her own good and she did usually enjoy it most of the time but some days she just wished she could go a week without training. But her mother and Agertha were downright serious about Brynn training and knowing how to fight and defend herself, her mother may have lacked in teaching her some things but knowing how to fight was definitely not one of them.

"Brynn!"

"Okay, okay," Brynn said to her as she scooted herself away from the edge of the tree and griped onto the bark of the tree and carefully climbed her way down, the branch that she had been lying on was close to the base but there were a few branches below it that weren't high enough off of the ground for Brynn's liking. "I'm coming." She said with a sigh.

Brynn enjoyed the forest quite a bit, probably more so than any other dwarf out there. The forest though, was Brynn's solace, the one place that she went to get some alone time and to just think for a while; think about the day's events, about life in general, about things that she wouldn't dare talk to her mother or Aggie about, and it was a place where she could just be.

The moment Brynn's feet touched the grassy ground, Agertha immediately linked her arm with Brynn's and started to all but force her to walk with her around the property that they called home. Apparently Gandalf, the wizard who sent them to this world when Brynn was only a few months old had managed to get the three dwarf women this place, how he had managed that none of them knew but they weren't going to question it. No need to look a gifted horse in the mouth.

For a few minutes they walked in silence, Agertha still with her arm linked with Brynn who eventually cracked a grin at Agertha's somewhat childlike behavior. Eventually though, Agertha broke the comfortable silence and decided to question Brynn on how she was doing.

"Are you doing all right this day?" Agertha asked as they walked past the garden that Drifa tended to so lovingly, living in mountain's they never had that many opportunities to try their hand at gardening, though they were pretty adept at healing. "It's hard to think on the people we've lost over the years and the one's that we've never had the chance to meet, but you cannot wallow in grief and regret at what you will never get." She spoke wisely to the younger girl.

Hearing that Brynn gave a half smile and looked towards the porch of the house where she could see her mother sitting on the porch swing, reading some book or another – she's a rather big fan of the modern worlds take on fantasy books compared to the life that she lived in Middle-Earth.

"I'm not wallowing," Brynn said softly and ran her one hand over her face. "I know that there is nothing to change what happened in the past; I can't change the fact that dad died, I can't fix Ma, who tries so hard to hide the fact that she's never really dealt with the trauma of what happened to her all those years ago and I can't change the fact that I'll never have the chance to know my own people." She stated with a sigh of frustration. "I wish I would have had the chance to know dad, I wish that there was some way to fix Ma and bring dad back. I want her to be happy but she isn't, I used to think that she was but now, seeing her over the last couple decades. I know that she truly isn't."

When Brynn said that Agertha pursed her lips and glanced towards where she saw Drifa and then turned back to Brynn, "I know." She said to her softly. "It's unfair, many of the things that happened to you and your mother is unfair and I know that you've got the…how do they say, shit end of the stick, but you can't continue on thinking on the what if's in life. You will drive yourself mad."

Nodding in agreement Brynn kicked at a rock that was laying in the grass, "I know, and I fully understand that I can't make dad suddenly become alive again, I can't change the fact that Ma was attacked and almost raped and I definitely can't change her views on Middle-Earth." She said and took a deep breath before continuing on. "I'm hurt that I never got the chance to know my dad, to live in Middle-Earth, to meet my uncles that you and ma tell me about once in a while and that I won't get the chance to know other dwarves…ones who are around my age. But I'm not distraught like ma is, she tries to hide it but you and I both know her too well to be fooled by that." She spoke to her with a sad look on her face. "I want to make Ma better but-"

"But you can't." Agertha stated simply. "Your mother is stubborn and won't deal with the past and won't talk about your father that often, or about Middle-Earth or our people. I thought her hesitance to talk about such things would pass after a few decades but I was wrong, and I should have spoken up but I did not." She said and sent Brynn a regretful smile.

How Agertha wished she could have helped Drifa deal with all of the things that have happened to her, she wanted to truly help her and not just be her shoulder to cry on once in a while but sadly she did not have the skill to do that. No amount of care and understanding that Agertha had for Drifa would ever be enough to truly understand the loss that her longtime friend has suffered.

"Would he have liked me?" Brynn asked suddenly, as she looked at Agertha with curious eyes. "My dad, would he have liked me?"

At that Agertha couldn't help but give a light laugh, "Oh Brynn he would have more than liked you, he would have loved your spirit and would have loved to antagonize you just to see your fiery temper and determination come out to play." She stated with a fond smile as she remembered Ragnivir, who she had always considered a friend. "You are so much like him, it's uncanny."

"Really?" Brynn asked with somewhat concealed curiosity, sadly over the years her mother had refrained from telling her anything about her father; the only time her mother had ever talked about him in detail was when Brynn was old enough to know about what happened to him and how they ended up living in this world.

"Mhmm," Agertha said with a confident nod of her head. "Too much at times." She said with a wry smile on her face. "You have some of the same mannerisms as him, his playful bantering that he often liked to do, you fight just as furiously as he did and you are painfully blunt at times. Just like he was." She said and gave Brynn's shoulder a supportive squeeze and looked at her with caring eyes. "You have his same smile, a mixture of a smirk and a grin. He would love you and love how strong and independent you are."

At that Brynn gave a small smile and closed her eyes for just a moment and imagined the sort of person her father would have been, but most of all Brynn wished she could know what he looke. So many times Agertha has told her that she was the spitting image of her father, and sometimes when her mother looked at her it was as if she was seeing a ghost but it was truly because Brynn looked so much like her father. Brynn wished she could see just one picture of her father, to see how much they truly looked like one and another.

"Do you think she will be like she was before….before dad died?" Brynn asked Agertha as she looked up into the clear blue sky.

For a moment Agertha stopped and thought on that innocent question, it was a loaded question and to tell the truth Agertha wasn't sure of the answer. "I don't think she will ever be the person that she once was, I think in time, and with the help that she so desperately needs that she will be able to come to terms and accept what happened and be a portion of the person she once was. But no," she said with a disappointed shake of her head. "She won't ever be the person she once was. The scars of the past are always with you."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ A Few Days Later: Earth ~_~_ ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

A few day's have passed since the anniversary of Ragnivir's death and things have gone back to normal for Drifa, Brynn and Agertha…well as normal as they can be for three dwarf women living in a world that was not their own. A world that was so vastly different from the one that they were originally from; where they had been used to many different races, and creature's roaming the lands of Middle-Earth, here in this modern world there were only humans, so many large building's and everyone was always so rushed.

At the moment Drifa was just a chapter or so into the first book of The Game of Thrones, it was an addictive book to read, a book that a person could get themselves lost in so completely. Whilst reading Drifa suddenly gave a small scream of surprise and jumped a bit when Brynn suddenly and without warning flung herself onto the couch besides her mother.

"So," Brynn said with a wide grin spreading across her face. "What are you up to?" she asked as she settled herself back into the cushions of the couch.

Drifa sent her daughter a half-hearted dark look for scaring her as she did, "Do not scare me like that Brynnhilda, I am an old woman now and not quite the youthful dwarf I once had been when we arrived here." She spoke as she poked her daughter in the side a bit gaining a laugh from the curly haired blonde. "I swear that my heart had stopped when you did that." She said as she laid a hand on her still fast beating heart.

Hearing that Brynn couldn't help but roll her eyes and give a small scoff, "Ma you are not nearly as old as you make yourself out to be, if you can still spar against both me and Aggie at the same time then you're definitely not an old maid as of yet." She said to her with a pointed look as she crossed her arms under her well-endowed chest – it's complicating to cross your arms when you have a good sized chest on you. "You're being a bit dramatic I think. Like a teenage girl."

"Dramatic?!" Drifa said giving her daughter a fake appalled look. "I can't believe that my own daughter, my child who I was in labor with for almost two days is calling me dramatic," she said as she laid a hand on her heart in a fake pained fashion. "Me, her dear old, fragile mother." She said with a disheartened shake of her head. "Such blasphemy."

Brynn couldn't help but smile at her mother when she said that, this was the side of her mother that she wished she could see all of the time rather than just a few sparingly times throughout the year. This was the carefree, joyful and happy mother that Brynn always wishes to see but barely makes an appearance, a mother who seems as if she has been healed from the internal scars that she carries around with her. These moments were only brief and only lasted a few days before Brynn's mother recalled all of the bad memories that were locked up in that head of hers, remembered that her husband was dead while she still lived on and that no matter what she did she couldn't forget her internal scars.

Looking at the book that her mother was holding Brynn smiled to herself and leaned closer to her mother's side, "I remember when I was but a small dwarfling, we'd only been living in this world for a short time and just like it was expected of a river to flow you would come to my bed before I would go to sleep and read to me." She said as she closed her eyes with a tender smile on her lips as she remembered those days. "The Chronicles of Narnia were always my favorite stories to hear about."

Drifa remembered those times and they were some of the most precious memories that she has of Brynn, of when it was just the two of them having some mother/daughter time together. The three had only been living in the modern world for a while, and they were still attempting to adjust to how this world worked and how to interact with the people there…..it was a learning process that was for sure, they only attempted to take their swords into public twice before they learned.

"Are you asking me to pick up that tradition once again?" Drifa asked expectantly as an amused smile fought its way onto her face. "Because if you truly want me lay in bed with you, reading the Chronicles of Narnia, while playing with your hair and tucking you in before you go to bed I will do it. If you truly wish for me to do just that I will not deny you." She said with a wide, Cheshire grin on her face as she looked into her daughter's dark brown eyes.

"As…..fun, as that sounds Ma," Brynn stated as she looked at her mother with a quirky look on her face. "I think I'll have to pass." She told her. "I think I'm a bit too old for that and all, plus I-"

Before Brynn was able to finish her sentence the front door suddenly burst open with a loud bang against the wall which made both mother and daughter jump a mile in their seats, not even two seconds later in walked Agertha who had a wide and excited grin on her face and was basically bouncing in place. Drifa looked at her friend oddly wondering why she was so excited but soon enough Drifa's eyes widened as a tall grey clad figure followed in after Agertha. It was Gandalf.

Drifa could not believe her eyes, there standing not feet from her was Gandalf whom she has not seen in almost seventy-four years, not since he had done some wondrous magic and sent herself, her daughter Brynn, and Agertha away from Middle-Earth and to this modern world that they now lived in. before he had sent them away, Gandalf said that they will not be able to return to Middle-Earth ever again and he did not have the power to do such magic as that again. Yet here the man was, standing in front of them with his gentle eyes that were still so familiar.

"Gandalf?" Drifa questioned, needing to be sure that she was truly seeing what she thought was there. "Gandalf is that truly you?" she asked as she slowly rose up from the couch that she and Brynn were sitting on and hesitantly walked towards the man.

Gandalf gave a soft smile to her as he shifted his wooden staff to his other hand, "Yes Drifa, it is me." He answered her and then looked towards Agertha, and then lastly to Brynn who was now a young dwarf maiden and not an infant as she had been when he first met her. "And you must be Brynnhilda." He stated simply. "I have not seen you since you were but an infant in your mother's arms. I," he stated. "Am Gandalf the Grey."

Hearing that Brynn looked at him in amazement, "Gandalf the wizard?" she questioned him not believing that this man that was in front of her was the wizard that her mother and Agertha had told her of.

"Yes, that would be me," The grey wizard answered with a warm laugh on his lips and stared down at Brynn with a soft smile. "You have grown into quite the beautiful young dwarf-maiden."

Instead of answering that Brynn just gave a smile at him, she still could not believe that THE Gandalf the grey was standing in her home. This was a wizard that her mother and Agertha told her stories about, told her wondrous and incredible stories about battles that he had taken part in, of magic that he's done and that they've seen him do during the short time that they had spent with him. This was the man who had such power that he was able to send Brynn, her mother and Agertha to this modern world.

Even with all of the amazing things that Brynn has head of him, now that she saw him in the flesh he was a bit different from the wizard that she had pictured – he had stringy grey hair, a rather long and impressive beard (ZZ Top would be jealous of him) and all of his clothes were grey scale. Much different compared to what she had imagined as a child but still quite impressive and had a certain presence about him.

"Gandalf," Drifa said as she eventually just let herself sit back down on the couch that she previously occupied. "What…I mean….how…I'm just so very confused as to what is going on right now," she said with a heavy sigh and ran her hands through her dark hair making it look even curlier than it already was. "I thought that you had told us that you will be unable to ever do such magic as you did to send us to this world, that it had taken much out of you and even when you had the aid of Galadriel and Elrond that it would be strenuous." She stated and looked at him seriously. "How did you come to be here when you had told us it would be near impossible to do so ever again."

At that Gandalf exhaled heavily and looked between the three women, all three were looking at him with expectant looks on their faces. "May I sit?" he asked as he gestured towards a chair that was on the opposite side of the couch that Drifa and Brynn were sitting on.

"Of course," Drifa stated to him with a forced smile, she had missed Gandalf and was quite thankful to him for all that he has done for her but she was suspicious of why exactly he was here when he had said he would not be able to do such magic ever again.

Agertha nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes. Please sit Gandalf." She said and basically shoved him into the chair that he had gestured towards that was situated just in front of a simple looking fireplace.

As Gandalf settled his long frame into the wooden chair that was not quite made for a man of his height he looked towards Drifa with concealed guilt, he had sent her to this world on her request and with great reluctance Gandalf had agreed to her desperate pleading to leave Middle-Earth and never come back again. Drifa had good points, all those decades ago, she spoke of not being able to heal in a world that was filled with such violence, anger and bloodshed, that she had so many bad memories of that world that even with the help of her friends and family she would not truly be able to heal. So Gandalf wishing her only the best, had done some very complicating and very intricate magic – with the help of Elrond and Galadriel of course, and sent Drifa, Agertha and baby Brynnhilda to this modern world. And now years later he came to them with a favor, a favor that would require all of them to leave the relative safety of this world and back to Middle-Earth.

"So," Brynn stated after a few moments of silence, she was just as curious as her mother and Agertha to find out about why Gandalf was there but it seemed no one was willing to get the ball rolling. "How come you're here? Ma said something about you telling them that you would not be able to come back here once you sent us here all those years ago." she stated.

Drifa took a deep breath and stared intently at Gandalf with narrowed eyes, "Yes, how did you come to be here Gandalf?" she asked him. "After all you said you would never again have the power needed to cast such a spell."

When she said that Gandalf gave a sigh and looked into Drifa's dark eyes, eyes that seemed to look into the soul, a bit unnerving at times. "Certain circumstances required that I find the power that I needed so that I may come here and speak to you all." He said to them simply and honestly.

If Galadriel was right, which Gandalf had no doubt that she was, then these three women were needed back in Middle-Earth in order to ensure that certain events did not come to pass. These three were needed desperately back in their world to change the fates of a certain ground of dwarves, Brynn in particular would be a help in changing events that Gandalf hoped would not come to pass.

"What has happened Gandalf?" Agertha asked seriously, worried about the friends and family that she and Drifa still had remaining in Middle-Earth. "Has…..has someone died?" she asked, her thoughts immediately going to Thorin, the man that she had once loved with her whole heart.

Without hesitation Gandalf immediately calmed their minds, "No, no one has died my dear dwarf's…..not yet anyway." He spoke, and all but whispered the last sentence to himself. "I have come to collect the favor I am owed." He stated and looked over at Drifa with a conflicted expression, he truly wished that he did not have to do this but certain comforts must be sacrificed for the good of others.

Hearing that Brynn pushed some of her hair behind her ear and looked at her mother in confusion, and then looked to Gandalf before settling her gaze back on her mother. "Favor? What favor?" she asked.

Drifa gave a heavy sigh at that and pushed herself up and off of the couch and walked a bit away from where Gandalf, Brynn and Agertha were and took a few deep calming breaths before she answered. "When Gandalf said that he would take us away from Middle-Earth, away from that…that dreadful place." She hissed with fire dancing behind her eyes. "I promised Gandalf, that I would owe him one favor to show my appreciation for him doing such a large feat of magic for me, well, for us." She said with an unreadable expression and then she turned her gaze towards Gandalf. "I never, in all my years thought that he would actually come to collect it." She said with narrowed eyes.

Agertha gave one look towards her friend and had the urge to groan, she could tell from the look on Drifa's face that the woman was more than furious with Gandalf, and there was no doubt in her mind that soon Drifa would be letting Gandalf know exactly how she feels about that. She would admit that it was not fair that Gandalf was doing this, but Agertha knew Gandalf well enough to know he would not do this unless he absolutely had to. He cared for Drifa and understood the pain and suffering that she had gone through, and had only wished her the best and wanted her to heal from the emotional pain that she had been in all those years ago…..which sadly still have not healed. But Gandalf would never call in this favor without searching every other option out there.

"What is the favor Gandalf?" Drifa asked with reluctance and looked at the man with arms crossed over her chest. "What do you need from me?"

Taking a deep breath Gandalf started, "Before I start I wish you to know that I did not want to collect this favor from you Drifa, I wanted you to live the peaceful life that you deserved after all that you had been through but I exhausted every last resource that I had. You are my last resort." He spoke and looked at her searchingly, trying to impel her to see his reasoning's for doing something such as this.

Agertha looked at Gandalf in understanding, "We will listen Gandalf, you have done so much for us, for this family that the least you deserve is us listening to your favor." She spoke and gave him an urging nod to go on with what he was telling them.

As Brynn looked away from Agertha and Gandalf, and over at her mother who was giving a stand offish appearance she gave a grimace and wondered if this was going to end well at all. One thing about her mother was that she hated…..maybe not hated but severely disliked anything and all things that had to do with Middle-Earth, to Drifa it was Middle-Earth that had taken her husband away from her, that had created the creatures that killed her husband and it was Middle-Earth that had allowed such horrors to happen.

"You left Middle-Earth nearly seventy-four years ago," Gandalf stated as he looked into Drifa's eyes with a gauging gaze, trying to figure out what her reaction to his request would be before he actually asked it of her. "In your mind it was a good reason, and I do not fully disagree with that. You had been through so much pain and suffering, and you saw so much and experienced things that you did not deserve to experience at such a young age." He said and gave her a sympathetic look, even after all these years the pain that he saw within her eyes on that one day were still fresh in his memory. "You said that coming here would help you, coming to a world without the anger, without the pain, without the fear of stepping outside and without all of the creatures that middle-Earth held would help heal you, and I hope that it has healed you." He said sincerely to her with a gentle smile to which she responded with a blank stare and waited for him to continue on.

Giving an unsure breath, Gandalf continued. "But there are things happening in Middle-Earth Drifa, there are things running amok and these things need to be stopped before it is too late." He spoke with an ominous tone. "So I am asking you this, I am asking you, Agertha, and your daughter Brynn to come to Middle-Earth."

Hearing that Brynn suddenly looked at Gandalf with expressive eyes, "You want us to come to Middle-Earth?" she asked, the excitement at that possibility coming out in her voice, she knew her mother never wanted to go back there but Middle-Earth was the one place she always hoped to see. "Really?" she questioned with a small grin on her face.

To be able to go to Middle-Earth, to actually go back to the world from which she was born….well that was Brynn's dream. She wanted to go to Middle-Earth and live and breathe the same air that her people do, that her father had and see the place that her mother and Agertha had told her about. She wanted to meet her own people, ones who weren't Agertha or her mother.

"NO!" Drifa stated furiously with an angry glare on her face towards Gandalf, who had just opened his mouth to answer Brynn's excited question. "I admit you have done much for me, and exalted much power in order for myself, Brynn and Agertha to have a life here. A peaceful life that we have built, one without war or having to worry about creatures attacking us and trying to kill us." She stated as she started to pace a bit and pulled at her hair with a sense of foreboding dread. "I have done all in my power to forget as much about that place as I possibly could, I worked so hard to not have to think of that place nor talk about it if I can help it." she said as she was breathing in and out with hard breaths. "I will NEVER return there again Gandalf, that horrid place holds so much anger and bloodshed, and so many lives are lost needlessly over greedy people and selfish missions. It's safe here and we only have to worry about other humans, so no, neither I nor my daughter will ever go there again." She said as she turned and gave her daughter a pointed look.

"What?!" Brynn exclaimed as she stood up from the couch and looked at her mother with an unbelievable look, she was an adult for Durin's sake; there was no reason for her mother to be treating her as if she was a petulant child who knew nothing. "I have a right to g-"

Before Brynn was able to even start that sentence of hers, Agertha hurried over to her and forcefully pulled her to sit back down on the couch and gave her a look and silently gestured towards Drifa to which the blonde haired girl gave a silent sigh and grudgingly shit her mouth and sat back down on the couch. Brynn loved her mother, she's sacrificed much to make sure Brynn had a safe upbringing but she needed to stop treating her as if she was still a dwarfling. It was getting old.

"I won't go back Gandalf," Drifa stated with a fierce shake of her head and looked out the window that was to the left, it was getting dark outside. "I understand that you say there are things happening but I simply will not go back, no," she said with pursed lips. "This is my home now. And I will remain here until my last breath leaves my lips."

Gandalf looked at Drifa calmly, when he decided to seek her out he knew that it would take a lot of patience to convince her to return to Middle-Earth. "Believe me when I say this Drifa, that I do understand your hesitance and fierce refusal at returning to Middle-Earth, I would not ask this of you unless I had to." He spoke with passionate eyes, he believed in this cause and needed these women in order to save lives. "But Middle-Earth needs you all, please."

For a moment Drifa just stared at Gandalf as she leaned fingered the material of the couch she was standing behind, "Has Middle-Earth changed?" she asked.

"What?" Gandalf asked a bit confused by the simplicity of that one question.

"Has Middle-Earth changed?" Drifa asked once again.

Gandalf shook his head, "I will not lie to you Drifa, we both know better than to assume that Middle-Earth is perfectly safe. If that were the case then I would not be here, asking for you to come back to Middle-Earth." He stated.

Agertha ran her hands through her red hair and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of all of the possibilities of why Gandalf was here and what exactly could be happening in Middle-Earth that they were needed so badly. "What has happened Gandalf? What is going on back home?" she asked in a soft tone of voice.

"It is your people who need you, the dwarves of Erebor." Gandalf said with a grave tone and looked at Drifa with discontent in his eyes. "These people, your people need you desperately my dear. Need you back in Middle-Earth," he said to her. "I have spoken with Galadriel, and with Elrond and soon things will come to pass, and many lives will be lost in the coming months if we do not act and try and counter them. We must change what the possible outcome may be, for the good of Middle-Earth." He finished with a severity. "Galadriel has seen the repercussions if we allow these things to happen, the affect that these events have on Middle-Earth, they will be quite dire and in the next few decades we will be able to feel it. I beg of you Drifa, return to your people."

Drifa gave an vehement shake of her head at that statement, "No. I will not." She replied simply to the elder, yet very powerful wizard. "These people that you speak of, they are no longer mine. I do not belong to them and haven't not for many decades now." She told him with a sad gaze on her face, she has not belonged to them since her husband was taken. "I feel for these people Gandalf, for what may come to be and what may happen but I will not chance my life, nor the life of my daughter or of Aggie to have the possibility of saving a few people. Because Galadriel and Elrond say possible outcomes may end up happening."

"Mother!" Brynn said, unable to stay quiet any longer which Agertha had been trying to convince her of, while Drifa and Gandalf were talking back and forth. "I cannot believe you; I can't believe that you would say something about people who you once belonged to." She said with a disappointed shake of her head, suddenly feeling as if she did not truly know her mother as well as she thought she did. "Those people," she stated fiercely. "Who are your people no matter how much you say they aren't, need help. They need OUR help, and if I am sensing this right, something big is just around the corner and if we do not step in, no one else will and their demise may be on your shoulders. Can you live with that mother? Can you live knowing that it is your fault that whole people, people who you once cared and loved for are no more because you were too selfish to help them?" she asked with conviction, watching her mother closely.

"Brynn!" Agertha said as she once again pulled the stubborn, hard-headed and opinionated young dwarf back down into her seat and gave her an exasperated but understanding look.

Gandalf knew that it was going to be a bit trying in order to convince Drifa to return, he knew her thoughts on Middle-Earth before she left it for this modern world but he thought seven or so decades away would help ease her mind of the worries she had for her home world. That she would come to terms with all that happened there but seeing her now, Gandalf truly believed that he was wrong in agreeing with sending her here, she has not accepted or healed from the pain that she suffered all those years ago. And that only made it that much harder for him to convince her to come back, if she came back she might possibly be able to overcome this pain that she was still suffering from.

Looking at her daughter Drifa gave Brynn a sad look before turning to Gandalf, "And what people is it that you think we need to save?" she asked. "There are many people of Erebor, so many were scattered after our home was taken. Who are you talking of that needs the help of us?" she asked and crossed her arms challengingly.

"The company of Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf stated simply to the three women and waited for them to take this new information in.

As those words left Gandalf's mouth Agertha immediately sucked in a sharp breath, the only reason that Thorin's life would ever be in danger was if he finally decided to retake Erebor. Her once intended had always talked of retaking Erebor, dreamt of it even but Agertha never thought that Thorin would actually decide to do just that. Every dwarf who was from Erebor always hoped that one day they could take their majestic kingdom back, but they never thought that it would come into motion. A dragon was a fierce creature to deal with after all.

"He's planning on taking Erebor back," Drifa stated as she looked Gandalf in the eyes. "Isn't he?" she questioned. "Right?"

Gandalf nodded to her question, "Yes. It is his life and the life of his company that I worry for. Their lives will be in danger while on this quest, while they try and retake your home back from Smaug. It's about high time your people took back what is rightfully theirs."

Brynn smiled to herself, "Erebor, I've heard very few stories about that place. From Ma and Aggie." She stated.

"It is a wondrous place," Gandalf said to her and then looked at the both Drifa and Agertha in the eyes. "They wish to take Erebor back and bring it back to its once former glory, to restore what it once symbolized to your people and allies." He said with passion in his voice, this quest may be dangerous and perilous but he believed that less lives will be lost if these three females accompanied them. "With you three back where you belong, I think we can tip things in our favor."

Drifa took a deep breath, she did not want to believe what Gandalf was saying to her, she did not want to believe that their presence could change so much but she knew that Gandalf spoke the truth. "Thorin is well known among many of our kin, I am sure he was able to find enough men to join him." She said to Gandalf as she looked away from his piercing gaze and towards a picture of Brynn as a young child with missing teeth that was hanging on the wall beside her. "Three women coming will not change the course of fate, that I am sure of. Our mere presence will not do that much."

Unable to take it anymore Agertha slammed her fists on the coffee table that was in front of where she was sitting and looked fiercely at Drifa, she felt so much anger and was so appalled at her that she could barely stay still. "How dare you be like this Drifa, how dare you?" she questioned her but did not give her friend time to respond. "Even your daughter, who has not met any of these people, mind you, wishes to help and wants to go to Middle-Earth in order to help her people. No matter how much you try and forget, and how many memories you think you have repressed the people of Middle-Earth, the people of Erebor are your people. You belong to them." She stated to her fiercely and took a deep, calming breath not wanting to say something rash because she was angry at her friend. "There was once a girl that I grew up with before Erebor was taken; she was strong, fierce, determined, protective of her friends and family, was willing to go to battle alongside her brother's when she was but a dwarfling because she wanted to protect her homeland. She wanted to protect Erebor from the evils of the world." She said as she threw a disgusted and astonishing look at Drifa. "She cared for all people, no matter if they were from Erebor or from the neighboring dwarven settlements or even human. She cared. This girl wasn't afraid of anything." She said with a smile of remembrance but soon shook her head. "What kind of person are you now Drifa? Are you proud?" she asked as she looked into her friend's eyes searchingly.

"I…I…I don't know." Drifa answered without looking into her friend's eyes, she could not take how her oldest friend was looking at her, with such sadness and despair.

"You know what I see?" Agertha asked her rhetorically, while both Gandalf and Brynn watched this interaction unable to pull their eyes away. "I see a scared woman who has lost her self so deeply in her pain, in her suffering and in the memories of the past that she can't pull her selfish self out from that darkness and help other people, help her own people, who truly need her now." She said and gave a scoff. "You refuse to talk of our world, of our people, of your husband and forsake these things from your child who deserves to know such things. Ragnivir would be disappointed, so disappointed in you." She said softly but ferociously. "Are you the person that you hoped to be when you were small? Have you become the person you always dreamed of being?" she questioned sharply.

Drifa knew that she was being cold and heartless, something that she never would have thought she could be, least of all to her own people but here she was being like the kind of people that she had once hated. Drifa was acting like the Elves of Mirkwood, when Erebor had fallen. Her people needed her and she had intentionally not taught her daughter things about Middle-Earth and her own culture and people, and why? All because she was scared and unable to fully deal with what had happened to herself and her husband all those decades ago. What kind of person had Drifa let herself become?

"Middle-Earth will always be a part of you Drifa, you cannot change that." Gandalf sated as he looked the woman who had just gotten a good tongue lashing from her friend. "Your brother's Balin and Dwalin have joined this quest." He stated to her and watched her reaction closely.

Without speaking a word Drifa threw her hands up in frustration and gave one last look to Agertha, Brynn and Gandalf before she basically stalked away and up the stairs to her room. There were so many things going through her head, and she did not know how to fully deal with them at the moment. Not even a few seconds later there was the sound of a few crashes and angry yell's in dwarvish to which the remaining occupants of the living room exchanged hesitant glances.

Agertha ran her hands through her hair and gave a heavy sigh before she turned towards Gandalf, "I will speak with her. She did not used to be like this when we were living in Middle-Earth, she does care but her fear is clouding her judgment." She said to him with a sorrow filled gaze, she truly had thought Drifa had overcome and accepted what happened years ago, but sadly she was wrong.

"Good luck." Brynn said to Agertha who just gave a mirthless grin and headed up the stairs to the second level of the house.

For a few minutes both Brynn and Gandalf sat in the living room in complete silence, the only sound coming from Gandalf smoking his pipe and the soft sound of the radio that had been playing in the living room before Gandalf had arrived and before the arguing had started.

"Gandalf?" Brynn asked as she took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes with a resolved face.

"Yes?" Gandalf asked as he turned a bit in the chair that was a bit too small for him and looked attentively into Brynn's dark eyes and waited for her to continue speaking about whatever it was that was on her mind.

Grabbing her curly hair, Brynn threw it over once shoulder and started to speak. "I will be the first to admit my mother is stubborn, she is unbelievably stubborn and Aggie has told me the only person who matches her in stubbornness is myself." She said with a wry grin on her face and sighed. "My mother treats me as a child still even if I am nearing my seventy-fourth year, and I understand that I am her child, her only child but that is no reason to have her treat me like a dwarfling. I am not going to stand back and watch as she does nothing for her people. I love my mother, but I truly think she will not change her mind no matter what Aggie may try and say to her to sway her opinion." She said and winced as she heard a rather loud argument coming from upstairs, god she was going to have to listen to her iPod that night if she hoped to get any sleep. "Promise me something."

"What would you like me to promise you?" Gandalf asked curiously, but really he already knew what Brynn was going to ask of him, it had been obvious from the way she talked earlier.

Brynn looked out the window of the living room, it was starting to rain outside, and looked back to Gandalf who was looking at her with a warm and welcoming gaze, a grandfatherly way in fact. "Take me with you when you go back to Middle-Earth, no matter if my mother says no to going and even if Aggie stays behind take me with. I don't see this place as my home, and if I am honest I never really have." She admitted to him.

Gandalf looked at her, "It will be dangerous you realize." He stated and took a puff of his pipe that was between his lips.

At that Brynn gave a half smirk, she would have expected nothing less. From the way Gandalf had spoken of this quest to retake Erebor she assumed that it was going ot be dangerous, beyond dangerous in fact but she was willing to take the risk. Nothing in life worth having comes easy.

"I know," Brynn whispered. "But I know that I will be able to take it, I may not look it but I'm pretty strong even if I am only half dwarf. I can take care of myself and I don't plan on going down without a fight. I'm a bit stubborn you see." She joked with a playful smile on her face. "Can you promise me this? Will you take me to see my people, to see my home world?" she asked and looked at him hopeful.

Studying Brynn, it was easy to see that she had bits of her mother in her even if she did more closely resemble her father, whom passed before Gandalf had the chance to meet him. Brynn was passionate about what she believed in, she was not afraid of taking things into her own hands and he wouldn't doubt it if she was stubborn as any full blooded dwarf.

Blowing out a smoke ring that was in the shape of a ship Gandalf looked to Brynn, "I promise you dear Brynnhilda that I will take you with me no matter what your mother decides." He stated to her.

"Thank you."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Authors Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

AN: tada, the most recent installment of my story. Please tell me what you think of it. I would appreciaate that.

Quote 1: "Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can't always understand them, but we have to trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith."

― Lauren Kate, Torment

Quote 2: "Most of us are imprisoned by something. We're living in darkness until something flips on the switch."

― Wynonna Judd


	4. Chapter 4: Revised

Disclaimer: Not mine as usual, just the original characters that i come up with.

A/N: So here is the next chapter, i hope you enjoy it and like how i protrayed Balin and Dwalin. Anywho, smooches loves.

Chapter Four

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Middle-Earth: Dwalin ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The night was cool and crisp, as was common in the spring time, the sky was clear of any clouds and shone brightly with thousands of stars up in the sky, and the moon was illuminating the road which Dwalin was travelling. Nights like this often reminded Dwalin of his younger sister Drifa, his half-sister but she was his true sister nonetheless. It's been almost seventy-four years since her, Ragnivir and little Brynnhilda had died. Seventy-four years since Dwalin and Balin both had felt truly at peace and happy.

When Drifa had been but a small dwarfling she had been a fierce little child that's ferocity had only been rivaled by Thorin's younger sister Dis, but Drifa with all her fierceness and stubbornness was also quite caring about other people no matter their race, imaginative little girl and overly curious much to her brothers chagrin. But what the brothers admired most about their little sister was that she was always happy and always, no matter the circumstance, had a positive outlook on life. Thing's may have been dismal at times for them but Drifa had always, somehow kept her chin up and marched on in life with confidence and without her brightness dimming. It was a rare attribute for the dwarves to have anymore, especially after they lost Erebor to Smaug.

"Erebor," Dwalin said almost breathlessly as he stopped walking momentarily and thought on everything that the utterance of that one word brought to him.

Erebor held so many memories for Dwalin, there were some good ones and there were bad ones as well. Before Erebor had fallen prey to Smaug, and before King Thror had been consumed by his greed and his need to have gold Erebor had been a grand kingdom, it was so grand that even the elven king Thranduil had come to visit. The once majestic kingdom of Erebor was where Balin and Dwalin had first met Thorin and where they had fought alongside the young prince in many battles, it was where Drifa had grown up and become a beautiful young woman, it was the place that she had met Ragnivir – whom had been a warrior under Dwalin's tutelage, and it was where Drifa and Ragnivir had gotten married…..it had been home. But then Smaug came and changed all of that, so many people were lost and broken and a few – a very select few, had gone mad from the events that took place. It was a sad fate, one which Thorin's own father had succumbed to.

Dwalin scowled to himself as he harshly kicked a rock that was in his pathway, and took a deep breath to calm himself from all of the bad memories that were coming to surface and contend walking towards the town that was halfway to Hobbiton where this so called burglar's house was at. A hobbit acting as a burglar, now that was something.

"Drifa," Dwalin stated as he looked at the night sky once again. "If you were here with me, you would be calling me reckless for going on such a quest." He said to himself with a sad smile on his face.

Dwalin remembered the last time that he, and Balin as well, had last seen their sister and her family alive and well. Drifa had decided to venture to the Blue Mountain's to pay both Dwalin and Balin a visit, and to see Dis who she had been good friends with, not nearly as close as she had been with Agertha, but still quite good friends. Drifa came so that she could introduce her brother's to her newborn daughter, Brynnhilda.

_**~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Blue Mountains: Ages ago ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~**_

_**Both Dwalin and Balin were walking one of the massive hall's in the Blue Mountain's, they had just finished crafting some new weapons that they were going to trade or sell to some of the human settlements that were close to the Blue Mountain's and to a few of the other Dwarven kingdoms. **_

"_**Balin! Dwalin!" the familiar excited voice of the two's younger sister yelled out from down the hall, reverberating against the wall's if the grand hall, it wasn't nearly as grand as Erebor had been, but it the home that they've made form themselves. **_

_**Turning from where they had been walking the brother's spotted the very familiar figure of their younger sister running towards them at full speed, and before either had a chance to prepare themselves Drifa had flung herself at her brother's almost knocking them down if it had not been for Dwalin's steady feet. The people around them had smiled in amusement at that sight, it wasn't often that someone manages to almost knock two seasoned warriors onto their bottoms. **_

"_**Sister!" Balin said once he righted himself and pulled his younger sister into a tight, loving hug. "What are you doing here?" he questioned curiously. "You are supposed to be home, resting. The baby-" he suddenly stopped himself and took a good look at his sister and his eyes widened. "The baby!"**_

_**Dwalin looked at his older brother and then at Drifa with a confused look on his face, "What about the baby?" he asked. "She's not had it yet. Or else she would not be here." He said and looked at his sister pointedly. **_

_**At that Drifa gave a small amused smile at her two brothers, oh by Durin's beard how much she missed these two fools. "I had the baby a month past, and I found that it was time I came to visit so I can introduce you to her." she replied. **_

"_**She?" Dwalin asked with piqued interest and barely restrained excitement. "You had a girl?" he questioned her and then looked for the familiar form of his brother-in-law but did not see him anywhere in the hall which was quite packed at the moment. **_

_**Drifa nodded excitedly at that, "Yes," she answered with a loving motherly smile on her face as she thought of her newborn daughter. "I had a small baby girl just before the start of June. She's perfect…..everything I could have dreamed of and more." **_

"_**I am proud of you sister," Dwalin stated as he walked forward and gently kissed his sister on the cheek and grasped her in a hug, she hasn't had an easy life but she has made the best of it and is truly happy with where she is in her life. "Now where is-" **_

_**Before Dwalin was able to finish that sentence there was a very loud and high pitched scream of a child, a baby in fact, and it only took the tree less than a second to realize that the baby that was screaming was in fact Drifa's baby. **_

"_**She's got quite the pair of lungs on her," Balin said with an ill-conceived laugh, especially when he glanced over at Dwalin's wince at the loudness of the small child. **_

"_**You haven't a clue how true that statement is," Drifa said as her husband suddenly appeared and weaved his way through some of the workers that were hauling materials that they needed. **_

_**Ragnvir was quite the dwarf, even if he was only part dwarf – though he was more dwarf than human, he was a bit taller than Dwalin even which was a hard feat in itself, he had massive muscles, quite a few battle scars but that was something that Drifa thought that added to his looks. He had long blonde hair, a full beard that wasn't too long but enough to grab onto, and he had ice blue eyes that were warm and welcoming no matter how fierce he looked or how much of a seasoned warrior he was. **_

_**Drifa smiled when she caught sight of her husband cradling their newborn daughter, and before either Dwalin or Balin knew what was going on they were grabbed by the arms and basically dragged over to where Ragnivir and the loudly crying baby was at. **_

"_**Someone is missing their mother," Ragnivir said with a playful smile/smirk that was always on his face, and gently handed the crying baby to Drifa who immediately cradled her in her arms. **_

_**Smiling Drifa bounced her daughter a bit and shushed her, trying to calm the very loudly crying that she was doing at the moment. "Oh shhhh, it's fine my little one, you are fine." She stated and then looked up at her brother's with a proud smile and stepped towards them. "Balin, Dwalin I would like you two to meet your niece. Brynnhilda. Brynn for short." **_

_**Balin smiled at Drifa for a moment before he looked down at his baby niece who opened her eyes at that precise moment and stared into Balin's, "She has your eyes Drifa." He told her as he reached towards Brynn and let her grasp onto one of his digits. "And has quite a grip on her."**_

"_**Of course she does," Ragnivir said with a wide grin on his face as she looked down at his daughter. "She's going to grow up to be a force to be reckoned with, deadly but beautiful. I know it." He said with a determined nod of the head. **_

_**At that Drifa couldn't help but shake her head at her husband, their daughter isn't but a month old and already he is making plans for her to be a ferocious fighter who would go down in stories. Personally she thought that Ragnivir was getting a bit ahead of himself but she left his dreams alone and let him hope for such things to happen, he was a new father after all no need to dash his hopes and dreams quite yet. **_

"_**Here Dwalin, hold your niece why don't you." Drifa said to her other brother and walked towards him with Brynn.**_

"_**I…I don't think that would be a good idea." Dwalin said to her carefully and took a subconscious step back away from his sister and his newborn niece. "I barely even held you when you were but a babe, father and your mother would not allow me to. Frightened that I would drop you." She answered.**_

_**Hearing that Drifa rolled her eyes dramatically at her brother, and ignored his protests before she basically forced him into holding the very small baby girl which looked quite comical in Dwalin's rather massive arms. **_

_**The moment that Brynnhilda was settled into his arms, and once he got over the fact that he was holding a more than fragile baby in his arms Dwalin looked down at Brynnhilda and gave a small, barely noticeable half smile at the small girl. The baby girl may have his sister's eyes but she had small tufts of wild blonde hair atop her head, hair that was the same color as her fathers was. **_

"_**Hi," Dwalin said awkwardly to his niece, unsure of what he was supposed to do or say to her. **_

_**Looking into the small girls eyes Dwalin knew that he would do all in his power to help Ragnivir protect her, if this girl wanted the world given to her on a platter Dwalin would find some way to do just that for her if that was what she wished for. Dwalin has never been that fond of babies and small children, the only ones that he's been able to stand for all that long were Drifa, and Dis' two small boys Fili and Kili. But now, this one baby girl has changed everything for Dwalin, he would be sure that no harm would ever come to her, that no matter what came at them or at the world, she would be protected. **_

"_**This is a moment that I wish I could capture and see forever," Drifa stated with a gentle smile as she ran a finger down her daughter's plump face and then looked between Balin and Dwalin. "I have missed you both so very much, life is different without being in just a short walk to see or speak to the both of you." she told them.**_

_**Balin looked at his sister with warmth in his eyes, ever since Drifa and Ragnivir decided to leave the Blue Mountain's and create a small home near a smaller dwarven settlement – a friend of his father's had offered him his own home and captain of his army, a hard offer to pass up. He was so used to seeing his sister almost every day, and seeing his brother-in-law and then they moved off to a different place to live. The fact that Drifa and Ragnivir were not living within the walls of the dwarven settlement they now called home, it did not settle right with Balin and wished he could urge them differently. It was not safe. **_

"_**You can always come back here," Balin said boldly as he looked from Drifa to Ragnivir and then to their little daughter. "We would gladly welcome you back here if you wish, everyone misses you especially Drifa I think. She is surrounded by so many men, and misses having a female companion that understands her." he explained to her which gained a bit of a chuckle from the group. "Her sons are only a little bit older than Brynn is." **_

_**Hearing that Drifa gave her brother a look, "I know, and I miss Dis just as much as she misses me but we have a decent, good home where we are at." She told him with a sad smile, she missed her brothers but she loved her home. "I never realized how much it would tear at your two's hearts if I left. Quite amusing to say the least. I suppose I will have to visit more often to be sure you two are staying in line and out of trouble." **_

_**That statement earned a big guffaw from Dwalin who was still cradling his very small niece in his massive arms, apparently once he got over the fear of holding a child he now did not wish to put her down or give her back to her mother. **_

_**That week that Drifa, Ragnivir and Brynnhilda had visited had been the last time that Dwalin and Balin had ever seen them alive again. And Brynn, she was so young when she was killed and hadn't had the chance to experience life or grow up into the amazing and beautiful woman that her parents had dreamed of. **_

It hadn't been until weeks after the small family had visited that Dwalin and Balin had learned of the attack on them, that they had been attacked by a small group of orc's. When Thorin had heard of what happened he didn't even hesitate in dropping all that he had been doing and accompanying Dwalin and Balin to see what they could find out about the attack on Drifa, Ragnivir and their infant daughter. Thorin had been a true friend during that time; he was not the exiled King of Erebor, but just Thorin, friend to Balin and Dwalin.

When they had arrived at the home of Drifa and her family it was a sad sight to see…there was so much blood, blood all over the place and not just from Ragnivir whose body looked like it had been tortured and beaten before he was finally put out of his misery. But the bodies of Drifa and Brynn were nowhere to be found, Orc's though, had often been known to take their victims as souvenirs as proof of their kill. One thing had been for sure, and that was that they did not go down without a fight and not without taking a few of them with them.

"Orc's," Dwalin said as he spat onto the ground. "Despicable creatures." He stated harshly as he breathed out in annoyance at the memory that was invading his mind, so many times he's tried to forget the state of which he found his brother in law in and the state of their home but it never lessened.

Dwarves were known for being fierce, stubborn, a bit rowdy and loud at times, but many people who were not familiar with their ways assumed that dwarves were not very family oriented. Which was simply not true, dwarves were loyal, honorable, and very protective of their people especially females (which the dwarves had a rather low number of) and of their children. Dwarves will fight with a terrifying ferocity when it comes to protecting their families, and that is one fight that no one should get in the middle of.

"About time," Dwalin said to himself as he finally reached the rather small, and quite dreary looking town that he was supposed to be meeting up with the other dwarves at, his brother being one of the said dwarves.

Walking past the wooden gate with heavy feet, Dwalin made way for the stables so that he could put his pony, as well as the one extra that Thorin and Gandalf had asked him to bring. He could only assume that it was for this Hobbit burglar that would be coming along.

"Sir! Sir!" A young excited sounding male voice said as the sound of hurried footsteps followed behind Dwalin. "Sir Dwarf? Do you need us to stable your ponies during your stay?" he asked and looked up at Dwalin with wide eyed wonder, the dark haired boy couldn't have even been in his teen years yet and was not even close to being near Dwalin's height.

Dwalin stopped where he was walking and looked at the boy who moved to be in front of him, "Yes." He stated gruffly. "Give 'em water and some food. You got me laddie?" he asked as he stared into the boys eyes seriously who only nodded enthusiastically, more than happy to help the dwarf. "If any harm comes to these two ponies then it is on your shoulder's laddie. Do you understand?" he asked as he took out a coin bag and handed the boy a few.

"I promise you sir!" The boy said as he grinned widely at him. "I will take good care of them. I will." He said eagerly and then grabbed the reigns from Dwalin before slowly and carefully leading the ponies towards a couple stalls.

Looking back at the boy Dwalin shook his head, before he moved away from the stables and back onto the streets of the small village and made way towards the closest Inn or Tavern – either one would be the place that the dwarves would go for straight away after arriving. Looking around Dwalin nodded to himself, there near the edge of the village was an Inn. The All-Welcome Inn.

It wasn't that large of an Inn, considering what Dwalin has seen in his time but it wasn't bad either, and as the sign on the outside said, all were welcome. There were mostly humans wandering around the village, a handful of Hobbit's which wasn't all that shocking seeing as Hobbiton was less than a half day's journey from there, and there were dwarves…..just the ones he had been looking for.

"Dwalin! Dwalin come, join us. Will ye!" Bofur said with a lopsided grin on his face from the table that he and three of their other companions had seated themselves at.

Grabbing an ale on his way to the table, Dwalin plopped himself down in a chair beside his brother Balin who was looking a bit whiter as the years went by. "Boys," he said simply as he gave a nod of his head and solemnly looked down into his ale, he just couldn't get his sister out of his mind this day.

"How was your travellin' Dwalin? Nothing unexpected?" Bofur questioned as he took a good long drink of his ale and slammed t down onto the table, making some of it splash over and onto his hands. "No unsavory run ins?" he questioned as he looked at his overly large brother Bombur who was stuffing his face full of any food that he could possibly get his hands on.

Dwalin shook his head, "No, they were fine." He said shortly and grabbed a handful of food from Bombur and ate it, ignoring the indignation the other dwarf gave him.

Bofur looked at Dwalin for a few moments with a contemplating look on his face, the man always seemed to be angry, ever since he's met the fearsome warrior he's always looked rather…..fearsome and angry. The only time that he's looked to be happy, or even have a sliver of happiness when was he was eating or when they started to speak of retaking Erebor.

"Not much for talking today are you Dwalin," Bofur stated with a grin. "You should be excited, we're taking back your homeland." He replied and glanced out of one of the dirty windows of the Inn. "No need for a warg to have your tongue."

At that Dwalin sent him a withering look, "Do you ever shut up Bofur?" he sked angrily and forcefully pushed himself away from the table and stalked over to one that was unoccupied, or rather became deserted once the occupants saw the angry massive dwarf heading their way.

Not but a moment later did Balin join his brother with a heavy sigh and sit down across from him silently drinking his ale and sat in comfortable silence, waiting a while until he dared to break the silence.

"Something's on your mind brother," Balin said to Dwalin simply as he looked at him with concerned, aged eyes.

Dwalin gave a mirthless laugh, "Something is always on my mind as of late Balin," he replied darkly and closed his eyes for a brief moment before reopening them. "The past can be a terrible opponent, especially memories of the past."

It was then when Balin understood what was going on in his younger brothers mind, it's been a long time….years since the death of Drifa and it still affects them, more so Dwalin than Balin. It was laying heaving in all of their hearts, the death of Drifa and her family was painful and for many weeks and months after were none of the easiest, many people mourned the news.

"Drifa." Balin said simply as he laid a hand on Dwalin's shoulder in support. "It's been almost seventy-four years now since we lost them all."

With a despondent sigh Dwalin nodded, "Yes," he answered as he scratched at the old wooden table with a blunt fingernail. "It was a night like this when we had last seen them, when they had left back for their small home." He said softly and took a deep breath. "Drifa, Ragnivir and little Brynnhilda. They are dead now, they will never get to live the lives that they deserved. The little one especially."

Looking at his brother Balin rubbed at the back of his neck uncertain, ever since the news of their deaths came to Dwalin, the man has been blaming himself for their death's, Balin felt at fault as well. If they would have tried harder to convince Drifa and Ragnivir to move away from their small house, which was too far away from anyone if they needed help, mayhap she would still be living, they all would still be living possibly.

"We did well by her Dwalin," Balin said with a downcast expression on his face, it still hurt to think of his sister in the past tense. "You and I both went out hunting the orc's, trying to find the ones that wronged our sister, niece and brother-in-law, we searched and sought out revenge to any that crossed our paths." He said to him with restrained fierce tone of voice, he still remembered those horrible days. "We killed many, many of the orc's, ones that could have done the same to another family. Be proud of what we've done Dwalin."

"Be proud?" Dwalin asked with a loud scoff and an angry shake of his head. "Proud that we failed Drifa, that we failed Brynnhilda, our small niece who we met but once?" he asked and gave dark look. "I promised to protect her, to protect Brynn. The moment Drifa set her in my arms, I made a promise to myself and to Mahal that I would protect that small girl." He said sounding distraught, something he very rarely sounded like.

Hearing that Balin gave a sigh, "We both did what we could Dwalin, and that is enough." He said to him knowingly. "That is all anyone could ask for." He spoke.

Dwalin stared at Balin for a few moments before grasping his ale harshly and taking a big drink, some ale even going down his beard. "It will never be enough."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Authors Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, i enjoyed writing this. I want to write the next chapter right now but i am in desperate need of hanging out with some friends and have socail interaction so one i am back from doing those things i will write.

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before-more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle."

― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations


	5. Chapter 5: Revised

Disclaimer: as usual not mine

A/N: So i did say that i had writers blcok adn was feeling weird and unable to write but somehow, after quite a bit of netflix watching, i was able to find inspiration and write for you beauties! So please enjoy this.

Chapter five

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Earth: Drifa ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

All those years ago when Drifa, her daughter and Agertha had arrived in this new and much more modern world she decided that she would never, ever set one single foot back in Middle-Earth. Drifa will always hold a small fondness for her home world, it was where she grew up and it was where she had met Agertha, Dis, it was where she married Ragnivir and where Brynn was born but even if she had a small fondness for it she did not hold love for it any longer. Middle-Earth was full of darkness, and anger, and so much war and that was something Drifa wanted no part of, nor did she want her daughter have to experience such horror's as she did; Drifa had seen such terrible things ever since she was a small dwarfling but even so she kept her happiness and positive outlook held tightly to her heart and refused to let the darkness entrap her.

Even if Drifa had made that silent promise to herself, of never going back to that world she somehow ended up breaking that promise with herself. Drifa was now packing two rather worn bags of hers - she's had them since before Brynn was born, and was putting some of her belongings in it for heading to Middle-Earth. As much as Drifa would rather stay here in Earth, where there were no dark and evil creatures roaming around and where it was safe but with one look at her daughter the night before Drifa there was no which way to sway her daughter's decision she was too stubborn and determined and hard-headed for that to happen. So it was with great reluctance that Drifa was packing for Middle-Earth; maybe in some weird and twisted way this was meant to happen and she would finally come to terms with what happened and find peace.

"You've changed your mind."

Giving a small jump in surprise at the sound of her daughter's voice Drifa breathed in deeply, she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the door of her bedroom open up. "Brynnhilda! By the god's child, make a sound will you." She said as she laid a hand on her chest and took a calming breath to slow down her racing heart. "I swear that you are like an elf at times with how quiet you are when you walk, it is as if you are walking on top of a cloud or a snow bank." She stated with a small smile and shook her head at her daughter.

Hearing that Brynn gave an inward smile, often times when she was but a child she had found much amusement in sneaking up on her mother and giving her a bit of a fright, it was a fond memory. "Sorry Ma." She stated but couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Oh yes," Drifa stated as she grabbed a ceramic box and gently placed it in one of her two bags. "You sound quite sorry for scaring your dear mother, so very sorry." She said as she sent her daughter a joking smile and walked over to her bookshelf and grabbed a few of her favorite books from the shelf that she could not and would not leave this world without; she would fully admit that they were her vice since coming here. "What else do I need?" she mumbled to herself as she looked around her room at all of her belongings that she's collected over the decades.

As she watched her mother with intent eyes Brynn gently leaned against the door frame of her mother's bedroom and silently watched her from a couple moments with curious eyes, wondering what exactly changed from the night before to this morning that made her mother decide that she was going to be going along to Middle-Earth. Brynn would have sworn on her life that she would be having to leave her mother in this modern world while she traveled back with Gandalf to Middle-Earth, her mother wasn't exactly all that…fond of going back to Middle-Earth. Brynn understood her mother's obvious anger, resentment and hesitancy towards Middle-Earth, after everything that she lost there but Brynn could not stand by and not help a people – her people – who so desperately needed it. The fact that her simple presence could change the fate of some of the dwarves, well that was not something that Brynn was able to ignore and she wouldn't want to even if she could. Brynn was not the sort of person who ignored people when they were in need, the elves of her home world may be like that but Brynn wasn't.

"Why did you change your mind?" Brynn asked with genuine curiosity in her eyes as she watched her mother grab a few articles of clothing, fold them and then place them in her bag. "I mean," Brynn said as she took a deep breath, hoping what she had to say wouldn't anger her mom, she would rather not get in an argument with her she's tried to keep those to a minimum of two a decade. "You were so, so, so adamant in not going back, not even to help your own people Ma. I mean, I know that you suffered so much pain there and that you had to experience so much, so much pain that you didn't deserve but never did I think that your would refuse your own people…..or your brothers who are a part of those people." She said and looked at her with an uncertain furrowed brow, wishing to know why her mother had been so against going the night before. "I mean we can make a difference, we can do some good and all we have to do is go to Middle-Earth and we could change the fates of some of the dwarves who may have ended up with a fate none wish upon them."

Drifa took a deep breath as she gently took a few framed pictures down from her wall, "I know," she said with guilt heavy in her voice and looked down at the pictures in her hands, they were of Brynn, herself and Aggie over the years, she may have to leave this place and will never see it again but that doesn't meant that she isn't going to be bringing memories back with her. "I do not like to admit this often, just as you don't, but I was scared Brynn. I was scared of what memories would pop up into my mind, I was scared of facing the past that I have tried so hard to forget and tried to never speak or think of if I could help it. And I've realized that pushing the memories away and trying to forget about them has not helped me." She admitted with a tight mirthless smile on her lips. "If anything it has made things worse."

At those words Brynn looked at her mother sympathetically, she did not wish to see her mother in pain and no matter how much her mother has tried to put on a strong façade the pain is obvious in her eyes. Her eyes are the window to her soul and every emotion that she ever feels is clearly written on her face for all to see.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," Brynn stated as she moved her way into her mother's room and sat on the end of the bed. "More than glad, but what exactly changed your mind? I mean you are…well you." She said lamely as she gestured towards her mother.

Giving a small chuckle at that statement Drifa paused in her packing and turned to look Brynn in the eyes, eyes that mirrored her own so much. "Aggie made me see reason." She stated with a simple shrug of the shoulders and then sat down on the bed beside Brynn and took her hands in hers before looking back into her face. "Aggie…talked with me," she said and gave a wry smile, it would be more true of a statement to say that Aggie had more than just yelled at her. "There were many things that she made me realize Brynn, things that I never wanted to admit to but know that I must. When we arrived here I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Middle-Earth; I never wanted to speak, hear or think of that place ever again and because of that fact I did not teach you all that I should have. I taught you the bare minimum of the history of Middle-Earth and I told you the most horrific stories of that world I knew to drive you away from wanting to know more. You were fascinated by them though, a bit too much of your father in you I think." She said and paused for a moment thinking of all of the similarities that Brynn and her late husband had.

Taking a deep breath Drifa continued with speaking, "I kept your own culture away from you even Brynn, you are a dwarf and just as good as any full dwarf and yet I kept the culture of your people away from you and I had no right to do so." She said regretfully and placed her hand atop her mouth and attempted to control her voice which was starting to sound a bit emotional. "You are daughter of Ragnivir, a fierce warrior and you are the granddaughter of Anarr who was a great warrior who served King Thror well. I, under no circumstance had any right to withhold all that I did. You know so little of your own culture, less than even a dwarfling would know of almost and that is one of the gravest things that I have ever done unto anther being, and I do it to my daughter at that." She said with a humorless shake of the head. "I am a terrible mother and how I wish I could take all of that back, all of the wrongdoings that I have done to you. I wish so badly to take them away."

Brynn gave her mother a pained look at those words, she wished, oh how she wished that she could take all of the regret, sadness and pain away from her mother but she knew that she could not. Her mother did make mistakes and as much as she wanted to tell her that it was okay, Brynn couldn't. Over the years she accepted the fact that her mother did not teach her things purposely but she was never okay with it and was quite angry that she was gypped from things that she had a right to knowing, but she could not ease her mother's mind as much as she would love to do so, her mother had to fess up to her mistakes and make peace with what she did. But that didn't mean that she loved her mother any less, Brynn loved her mother for everything that she did for her and sacrificed just to ensure that she lived to see another day.

"Ma," Brynn said softly with a fond expression on her face. "You are nowhere near being a terrible mother," she told her and sent her a stern look for even thinking that one thought, a bit misguided but not a terrible mother. "I love you more than anything and you've raised me to be the person I am and you know for a fact that if you were a terrible mother that I would be the first to tell you." She pointed out which earned a somewhat amused smirk from her mother. "You taught me to fight Ma, you taught me how to make healing paste's, you taught me to be independent and to believe in myself and to not let someone tell me I cannot do something simply because I am not a man. You've done so much for me, you even ha-"

Drifa interrupted her daughter's little speech by gingerly holding a single finger to her daughter's lips, silencing her. "I more than love the fact that you have said all of those things Brynn, I truly love you for that but I know deep in my heart that I am not the mother that I had originally planned on being for you." She said with a downcast expression. "I did not intend on wallowing in self-pity and letting my pain consume me, but I have not truly dealt with my problems of the past or with what happened to…..to your father." She said with a grimace on her face, it still hurt even after all these years to even speak of Ragnivir. "I wished to be more for you, but I fear that it is too late to be the mother I intended on being."

At that Brynn shook her head without hesitation, "It's never too late." She said to her and then pulled her mother into a tight hug and gently laid her head on her shoulder for a few moments, feeling very much like a small dwarfling even if it is for but a moment. "I love you so much Ma. And I am glad you are coming with."

"I love you too Brynnhilda," Drifa said as she kissed her temple and gently raked her nails down her daughter's scalp and through her long curly hair.

Drifa needed to hear that, she needed to hear Brynn tell her that even with the mistakes that she has made in raising Brynn that her daughter still loved her just as much and that nothing would ever change that fact. She did not know if she would be able to live with her daughter hating her, they may butt heads often because they are quite similar but they've never once uttered the words of hate to one and another and Drifa hoped that they never would.

"All right," Drifa said with a big sigh and released her daughter and sent her a small playful smile. "Enough of this sort of talk, it is time to get a move on seeing as we are on a tight schedule." She stated. "Are you packed? Once we arrive in Middle-Earth we will be there for good. If there is something important that you leave behind we shan't be coming back for it." She said with a pointed look on her face.

"I've got most of my things together," Brynn said to her as she looked around her mother's room and at all of the many things that she was leaving behind.

Over the years the small family had gained quite a few belongings, knick knacks and such things as that but none of them were truly worthwhile nor of any sentimental value to them. Most of their possessions did not bring any great memories to them that would make them feel as if they could not live without bringing them with to Middle-Earth and that was one thing to be thankful for. Brynn will admit though that she would miss a few modern conveniences such as shopping centers, coffee shops and computers but she was sure with time she'd be able to adjust.

"Well I'd move that butt of yours and make sure that you have everything before Gandalf starts rushing us out of here like a herd of Oliphants." Drifa stated to her playfully as she swatted at her daughter's bottom and all but shoved her out of her bedroom and towards her own that was just down the hall a ways.

Laughing as she made her way to her room Brynn was proud of herself, her mother seemed so down while talking of what she kept from Brynn over the years and for what she did not do or teach her but somehow over their talk Brynn was able to bring her mother out of the dumps and lift her spirit a bit.

Walking into her room Brynn decided to repack her green canvas duffel bag to be sure that she did indeed have all that she will need for the start of her new life in Middle-Earth; she would be desperately disappointed if she forgot something of importance. Such as bra's, she sincerely doubted Middle-Earth had an abundance of Victoria Secret shops lining the cities.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ _~_~_~_~ A little While Later: Porch ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It was getting very close to the time that Gandalf had said he would like to leave and do the return spell/enchantment/chant or whatnot that would send them back to Middle-Earth, so while Brynn still had the time she sat down on the steps of the front porch and just looked out at all of the land that they were surrounded by. This would be the last time that she ever will have a chance to do so.

These woods had been her playground and her solace over the many decades that she has been alive, she had even hid out in a tree for three days straight because she had refused to take a bath after trekking through the mud after a particularly rainy day. It truly was beautiful out here, compared to some of the cities of the humans it was at least. There was no one around for miles, there was a vast ocean of tree's upon trees and then even more trees after that, and there weren't any loud noises to disturb them nor much pollution to speak of. It was their little slice of heaven. As much as she would miss the view here and the only place that she has known to be her home, Brynn was more than excited to head to middle-Earth…..her true home.

"Would it be too much trouble for an old man to ask to join you my dear?" Gandalf asked as he towered above Brynn's sitting position on the porch steps, his staff held loosely in his fingers.

Brynn shook her head and scooted over a bit on the stairs so that there was enough room for Gandalf and all his billowing robes to take a seat beside her, "I don't mind." She said to him and then once again turned her gaze back out towards the woods and rested her chin in her hands that were resting on her knees.

Once Gandalf had situated himself he looked down at the girl that was sitting beside him, looking serenely out at the woods that surrounded the house. If he didn't know any better he would think that she would prefer to stay here, but after the talk that they had the night before he knew without a doubt Brynn would have fought tooth and nail just to go with and had even been willing to leave her mother in this world in order to go and help a people that she has never met but whom she was a part of.

"It's going to be dangerous isn't it?" Brynn asked as she absentmindedly cracked all of her knuckles on her hands. "Ma used to tell me such extravagant stories, many were horrific but that didn't stop be from being completely enthralled by them. She hoped they would scare me but it was a bit counterproductive, but I was young and amazed by all of the different sort of people and creatures in them. But that's nothing like real life." she stated simply and then looked at Gandalf expectantly; eyes squinted a bit because of the sun.

Gandalf laid his staff against his shoulder before answering the young dwarf maiden, "It is different from this world, there is still danger here and Drifa knew that when I had sent her, yourself and Agertha here but living here you did not have to worry nearly as much about stepping outside of your home and being attacked by dreadful creatures." He answered her.

Brynn bit her lip, "In Middle-Earth you do." She stated bluntly.

"Yes," Gandalf said with a nod of his head. "In Middle-Earth, your home world there are dangerous creatures and even dark beings who wish harm on all people but through the darkness you can find the light. Find the good in the world." He explained to her with a gentle smile on his rather wrinkled and aged face. "It is not always easy to do so but there is happiness to be found there, you just have to be looking in the right place. You mother," he said with a sigh. "Her happiness was lost with your father, and it was a terrible thing that happened but-"

He was cut off before he was able to finish that sentence, "As Aggie said with time and serious help she will get better but she will never be the person she once was years ago, but maybe a bit of that person at the least." She stated with a somewhat forced smile.

Gandalf smiled at the wisdom of a girl so young, she's never had to experience terrible things such as Drifa or Agertha have but even so she was wise beyond her years and smart. She was realistic enough to know that Middle-Earth will not be like this world that she resided in, Brynn knew it was different and was not afraid of it but was smart enough to prepare herself and learn of these dangers.

"Is this adventure thing," Brynn stated waving her hand around. "With this Thor guy-"

"Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf corrected with a laugh on his lips.

Once corrected in his name, Brynn continued. "Right, Thorin." She repeated. "Is it going to be dangerous as well?" she asked curiously, she wanted to do more than just help these dwarves by simply being in Middle-Earth but she was not sure what exactly she would be able to do.

Taking a good look at Brynn for a moment, Gandalf took his time in answering her question. "There will be many dangers on this quest of Thorin's, possibly before they even get halfway to their intended destination." He said with a half-hearted smile on his face, Galadriel had told him of lives that may be lost if not for someone intervening and he hoped to the Valar that he will be able to save those lives and not force people to suffer needlessly. "But any quest that is worthwhile will have dangers that will be encountered."

An adventure sounded exactly like something that Brynn was more than willing to do. She's been stuck in the same place for years and never really had a chance to go and do something with herself, or see the world. She's barely had the chance to be out of her family's sight for more than a day or so. It made her feel like a caged animal and she would much prefer to go and do something worthwhile with herself.

Just as Brynn was about to open her mouth and ask Gandalf yet another question the front door burst open and out walked Brynn's mother, and Agertha who were both wearing modern clothes just as Brynn was. At least she wouldn't be the only one standing out like a sore thumb.

"All right," Drifa said with a hesitant yet forced smile on her face, she was feeling so many different things over the fact that soon she would be in Middle-Earth once again; the most prominent was anxiety, trepidation and maybe a hint of fondness. "Come, let's get the show on the road before I become inclined to stay here." She said and looked at Gandalf with hands on her hips and a raised brow, waiting for him to start doing whatever he needed to do to get them to Middle-Earth.

Agertha shook her head at Drifa, "And to think that she didn't want to go at first." She said in amusement. "Glad to have you with us." She said to Drifa with a smirk on her face.

"Come, time is not our friend this day," Gandalf said as he stood back up with the aide of his staff and looked at the three dwarf women. "Brynnhilda, Drifa, Agertha we need space to do the return spell." He said and gestured towards the rather large open yard that was full of grass and weedy flowers.

With one last look at the house Brynn readjusted the strap of her canvas duffel bag that was across her chest and then followed after Gandalf, her mother, and Agertha to the middle of the yard where they had plenty of room to do whatever Gandalf needed to do.

"Oh," Gandalf said offhand as he looked at the tree women as he shifted his staff to his other hand. "There may be a bit of a rough landing."

Before any of the women were able to say much else to that admission Gandalf closed his eyes, clasped his hands together and started to chant in a very strange sounding language that Brynn had never heard before – maybe a language only wizard's use, or hell, maybe even Elvish.

The next thing that Brynn knew was that she felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out and thrown about every which way; try as she might she was unable to make out anything that they may have been going past, it was all a blur of blue and white hues and then they landed.

And just as Gandalf had told them, it was a rough landing.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Autor's Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_

A/N: tada look, somehow i was able to get over my writers block, i have no idea how. I blame it on a few episodes of Being Human UK that i watched on netflix. But what counts is that i was able to write this night when i should have gone to bed early since i work a morning shift tomorrow. Anywho i hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it is rather short and I would have prefered to have a longer one but i need to keep what's i nthe next chapter in the next chapter and not add it to this one to make it longer

A/N2: Hope you enjoyed and please review and tell me what you thought, it was a filler chapter so yeah.

Quote: Across galaxies of time and space

Travelling just to see your face

Lost amidst the countless stars

To bring me back to where you are."

― Bryce Anderson

Quote 2: "Of course there are worlds. Millions of them! Every star you see has worlds, and most of those you don't see."

― Isaac Asimov, Pebble in the Sky


	6. Chapter 6: Revised

Disclaimer: As usual the only people that I own are my own original characters

A/N: so here is the next chapter which i've been concentrating on for the majority of the day, I only took a break to get food, go to the college and get my school books and to get my paycheck. So you best feel honored.

Chapter six

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ Middle-Earth: Gandalf, Drifa, Agertha & Brynn ~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Just as Gandalf had said it was a bit of a rough landing, though Brynn thought that seeing as he was a wizard of exceedingly amazing powers that he would have been able to aim for a field of grass, or a cluster of bushes not a hard, dirt road. A dirt road that was covered in sticks, stones, rocks and other such items that inflicted pain upon the tree dwarven women when they had landed on the said road. Gandalf in all his glory though had somehow managed to land in his two feet and not in a haphazard pile such as Drifa, Brynn and Agertha had.

"Ow, Aggie get your knife out of my back." Brynn said from her position at the very bottom of the pile, and she was pretty damn sure that she had a rather large stick, or rather a small sized branch pressing painfully against her side. "And maybe get off of me too? You guys aren't exactly light as a feather." She stated breathlessly as very slowly both her mother and Agertha moved off of her and onto their own two feet.

Agertha gave a small mirthful laugh at Brynn's painful expression, "Call it revenge my dear, for all the years that you had thrown yourself at myself and your mother when you were but a small dwarfling. There had been a few times that I swore you had broken or at least sprained one of my ribs." She said and grimaced at the memory.

Agertha remembered one time when Brynn had ran and jumped on her so hard that she swore she heard her rib crack and had almost went to the hospital for that, and that was something that the three of them had been attempting to avoid doing. Going to the hospital would mean bringing attention to themselves, writing their names down and where they lived, and who knows if they had the same genetic or whatever workings as humans did. Maybe they worked different and one simple blood test could bring so many questions down and onto their family. And that was what they did not want.

"Yes," Drifa nodded at that with a small smile on her face as she wiped her pants off and checked to be sure that she had all of her weapons still attached to her person, she's only been back in Middle-Earth for but a minute and there's no need for her to lose one of her cherished weapon's already. "Brynn was a fearless child, jumped without looking and acted without thinking at times." She gave a sideways glance to her daughter who was still lying on the ground trying to catch her breath after having both Agertha and Drifa land on her. "Still is like that at times."

Hearing that Brynn squinted her eyes up at her mother and Agertha, "Hey now, be nice to me." She said with a childish pout on her lips and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Besides, being fearless at times can be a good thing."

At that Drifa gave her daughter a pointed look, "It can get you killed too." She said to her.

Drifa remembered all of the great dwarves that she has known over the years who had perished because they decided to be reckless and fearless, it's always best to have a good dose of fear because that's what keeps you alive when you are on the battlefield. Ragnivir had been like that when he was younger, before Drifa and he had become involved and one too many times she had ended up patching him back up. Thankfully he changed a bit when they got married and after Brynn was born, he wanted to live to see the next day and to see his family.

Gandalf, from his standing position near the women gave a good look at his three dwarven companions and then up at the still sunny, cloudless sky and gave a deep sigh to himself. They would need to get on the road soon; they had a bit of travelling to do before they reached their intended destination and hopefully if they did not stop too often for something or another they would be able to make it there before the sun started to lower behind the horizon.

"Come," Gandalf spoke as he held a hand out to Brynn and helped her onto her own two feet. "Enough dawdling, we must continue on our way. There is a village not too far from Hobbiton, less than a day of travelling in fact, and that is our intended destination." He spoke and then without uttering another word Gandalf started to walk down the road/pathway towards, what the tree females assume was the village he was speaking of.

So quickly making sure that they had all of their belongings and none of them had been lost in their unceremonious fall to Middle-Earth the three females followed after Gandalf, hopefully on their way to this so called village they wouldn't run into any sort of trouble. It may seem peaceful at the moment but Drifa knew that looks can be deceiving, any sort of hideous creature could be just lurking around the corner and waiting for the opportune moment to attack – she would not make that mistake twice.

"You know Gandalf," Agertha said as she winced with every step she took as they were travelling. "I would thought a wizard such as yourself, a powerful one at that, would be able to just wish us into a softer landing than you did." She said and lightly rubbed her bottom, she may have landed somewhat on Brynn but that doesn't mean the other debris that was on the road didn't hurt her either. "Drifa and I may not be all that close to being called old, least not when compared to someone such as yourself, but we are not the sprightly dwarves that we once were."

"I am a man of more than one millennia and if someone as old as I can move quick as a fox, then I am certain you are able to take a bit of a hard landing." Gandalf pointed out to her as he used his staff as a walking stick, it may look like a simple stick but it could be wielded as quite the weapon when it was needed. "I had thought I was in the company of strong dwarf-maiden's, two of whom are seasoned fighters, I did not know that I had brought prepubescent girls with me who only know the ways of complaining." He stated simply with a small smirk on his face before he turned his gaze back to the road they were travelling along.

When those words left his mouth both Agertha and Drifa looked at him with mouths agape, not believing that he had actually uttered those words to them. "Gandalf!" Drifa stated with an appalled look. "Did you…you just….prepubescent girls!" she said unable to form words and shook her head at him. "We are not acting like prepubescent girls." She finally managed to get out once she got through the shock of him accusing them of acting like preteens.

"We are not soft." Agertha stated as she crossed her arms over her chest, with a very childish looking pout on her lips, offended that Gandalf would say such things.

Gandalf looked back at the two older women, "I never said that you were soft." He spoke to them simply.

Agertha glowered at him before she responded, "No but you insinuated that we were acting as such," she said and threw her hands up in the air in an unbelieving way. "To think that I would ever be called soft by a wizard," she scoffed. "I am a warrior woman; I have snuck onto the battlefield along with the men and defended my people with all that I am. And now, I am called soft."

To think, that two fierce female dwarves who could fight just as well as any of their own men, if not better than some even, were now being told that they resembled prepubescent girls and seemed to have gone soft. Now that was an insult to both Drifa and Agertha, they prided themselves on their ferociousness and their skills in fighting and had proved themselves years ago that they were capable of defending themselves.

"Apparently you're whining and complaining too much if Gandalf is telling you guys that you're acting like whiny teenagers." Brynn said offhand with a hint of an amused giggle in her voice and readjusted the strap of her duffel bag that was thrown across her shoulder, she may have gone a bit overboard with packing things but it wasn't anything that she couldn't handle.

"Can you believe this Drifa," Agertha said with a faux offended look on her face as she looked towards Brynn and Gandalf who were walking a bit in front of them. "These two are making fun of us for our sore bottoms, and saying we are soft and…that we are like teenagers." She said with a joking shocked look upon her face.

Agertha and Drifa were not old by any standards, least of all by dwarven, they were older than a hundred years old but dwarves can live to see two hundred and fifty and sometimes even longer than that if they were lucky but that didn't mean that they were not still prone to the pains of any other being…well except for elves that is. The two female dwarves still felt the pains, creaks and cracks of their body and were definitely young dwarves who could move without worrying and take a fall without feeling the pain from it. Though they would never admit to those facts, not on their lives they wouldn't.

Drifa walked up to her daughter and playfully poked her in the side, making the girl give a slight jump attempting to get away from her mother. "I gave birth to you child and this is how I get repaid?" she asked rhetorically and laid a hand on her heart. "Is this what it feels to be stabbed? I feel such pain over this revelation, my daughter calling us teenagers and siding with a wizard." She spoke dramatically with an exaggerated sigh.

Looking sideways at her mother, and then back at Agertha all Brynn could do was shake her head at the two of them and all of their oddness. Brynn may think that her mom was being a bit weird, and maybe even acting overdramatic along with Agertha, but she would rather have her mother acting like she was – playful and joking around, rather than being hypersensitive to her surroundings and looking around her in anxiety waiting for an attack of some sort. From how her mother has talked of Middle-Earth all her life and now being in Middle-Earth finally, Brynn thought her mom was taking everything pretty well, and not even a panic attack as of yet nor has she demanded to be sent back to Earth.

"So, Gandalf," Brynn stated as she jogged up to Gandalf and attempted to keep pace with his much longer legs. "Can you tell me more about this world?" she asked in voice filled with wonder and excitement and looked up into Gandalf's older eyes.

Gandalf looked down at her with a small smile, "Such as what my dear Brynn?" he asked as he stared into the girl's dark and curious eyes.

At that question Brynn gave a half shrug of the shoulder's, "Anything really." She said to him and then hesitantly looked behind her at where Agertha and Drifa were following after them at, though at a bit slower pace. "Ma, as you probably heard from last night, didn't really teach me nearly what she should have about our home world, about all of the people and creatures that lived there, the Kingdom's and things of that sort." She said with a sad smile on her face as she grabbed her long hair and pulled it over one shoulder and tied it into a messy side bun. "I always wanted to ask more, but every time I tried she got teary eyed or got quiet with a pained look on her face. After so many years, I stopped asking."

Hearing that Gandalf looked at Brynn sympathetically, she was a woman of two worlds. Born in Middle-Earth but raised in the modern world and the culture and world that she should have grown up in, or at least been taught was unfairly kept from her. It wasn't fair how things turned out, for Brynn or Drifa, but these things must have needed to happen for a reason, in order to make these two women into who they are now.

With time Gandalf hoped that Drifa could accept what happened to her husband and to herself, and be at peace with everything rather than continuing with being jaded and bitter over those events and being so angry at Middle-Earth for all of the bad things that had happened to her. And hopefully now that Brynn was living in Middle-Earth she would have a chance to learn about all of the things that her mother had kept from her about this world and about her own culture. No child deserves to have their own culture kept from them.

"What would you like to know about?" Gandalf asked after a few moments of silence as he pulled out his pipe to lit it, after the last few eventful days he could use a bit of smoke.

For a moment Brynn thought, she could ask of all of the different peoples of Middle-Earth; Hobbit's, the humans, Elves, and even her own people the Dwarves, or she could ask about the treacherous creatures like Troll's, Orc's…..dragons even but she wanted to know about something else entirely.

Taking a deep breath Brynn looked back at her mother and Agertha who seemed to be gossiping like school girls – and they say they aren't anything like them – and then back at Gandalf. "Tell me of Erebor." She stated simply and then furrowed her brow. "I mean do you know about Erebor? I know you're not a dwarf or anything, obviously, but did you hang around them often?" she asked genuinely curious.

"I have been around for a very long time my dear," Gandalf said with a hearty laugh. "I know of Erebor, I remember when the Kingdom first came to be." He told her and closed his wrinkled eyes for a moment and remembered back when he had been a young lad traveling the roads of the world. "Erebor was a grand Kingdom, a strong one at that. It was the stronghold of Thror, King under the Mountain and one of the mightiest of the Dwarf-lords. He ruled his kingdom with surety, and never doubting that his house would endure. This kingdom was built deep within the mountain itself," he started to explain and took a side long glance at her as he took a puff of his pipe and saw that she was listening with rapt attention. "The beauty of the Kingdom of Erebor was legend, it's wealth lay in the earth, in precious gems and in gold running like river through stone. The skills of the dwarves was unequalled, they fashioned objects of great beauty out of diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire. Such skill they had in all crafts, not just with their jewels bit with metal and stone – their goods were known well throughout the land and with the people if Dale who laid just before the doors of Erebor. There were so many grand halls in Erebor, and rooms like an amphitheater and they produced such fierce and determined warriors. They had quite the formidable army at their disposal." He finished.

Brynn was lost in thought as Gandalf finished recalling the city of Erebor, and to Brynn it sounded like it had once been a magnificent and magical kingdom. If she closed her eyes and thought real hard she was sure that she could picture her mother, and what she assumed her father looked like wandering around Erebor when they were younger, courting one and another, sparring with one and another (at least she was told stories of them doing that), being married. And maybe if Brynn used the widest depth of her imagination she could come up with an image of her uncles and see all of them in Erebor.

"Do you think I…..we'll ever be able to see it?" Brynn asked sounding a bit unsure of herself. "Do you think that this quest will bring the kingdom back to its former glory?"

At that Gandalf pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, "I truly believe, that with heart and determination that this quest will succeed." He said and looked out into the woods. "As long as Thorin does not follow the path of his grandfather, being overtaken by the gold sickness, that Erebor will once again thrive into its once former glory."

Nodding at that Brynn rubbed the back of her bare neck, "And this friend of yours," she said. "Billy….er Bilbo," she corrected herself. "Is who you've chosen to go with this company on this quest, as a burglar?" she questioned him with a raised brow, she may not know much about the people of Middle-Earth but she did know a bit and knew that Hobbits were more so homebody's than adventurers. "Is that really wise? With him being a hobbit and all?"

"He may not yet realize it but he is the type for adventures," Gandalf stated confidently, with a wisp of a knowing smile on his lips. "By the end of this quest he will find his courage and sense of adventure, it is just hidden deep within his comfort of home."

When he said that with such confidence Brynn wanted to believe Gandalf but she was skeptical, from what she knew of people…..or at least the one's she's met in her seventy some years of being alive, if a person was not born with a sense of adventure, with a sense of purpose or a reason to do something worth it because if they did not have any of those things a person would ultimately give up. Hopefully that was just humans and not the races of Middle-Earth.

Brynn gave Gandalf a doubtful look, "I think that by the end of the week you are going to be sorely disappointed." She stated and then stretched her arms as far above her head as she possibly could, she needed to loosen some of her muscles that were starting to bother her a bit.

"We will see my dear, we will see." Gandalf said with an unreadable look on his face.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air Brynn couldn't help herself and gave a wide child-like grin at all of the things that she could smell here in Middle-Earth. Compared to Earth the difference in this air compared to that world….it was indescribable. Here you could smell so many things; the air, the grass, tree's and okay sure there were a few unpleasant things but there was no lingering scent of pollution, there weren't any sounds of a city of loud horns honking from the cars, crazy sounds of partying college students or anything of the sort. This place wasn't industrialized.

It was her true home.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Thorin ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

There was a meeting of his kin up here, up in the north and after travelling for such a long time and after a disappointing meeting – none of his kin were willing to aide him on his quest to retake Erebor. To reclaim a kingdom that was rightfully his. He thought his own kin would understand, would lend him help, would offer their army up to help him with this quest, but he had been wrong in assuming that.

Taking another swig of his ale, Thorin looked down at his wrist, where he had tattoo's, one of which Agertha had done herself. Shaking his head, Thorin angrily pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, how many years has it been now since he had last glimpsed upon her. Seventy-three, seventy-four years almost. Too many years.

"Aggie," Thorin said to himself and shook his head, and watched as all the people moved around him, his kin who took any chance they could to have a party even if that was a meeting of kin. "I should not of done as I did." He whispered quietly, that he almost did not even hear his own voice.

Thorin recalled the last time that he had seen Agertha, the last time he had the honor to touch her soft skin, to run his fingers through her wild and fiery red hair; almost every night Thorin tortured himself with memories of his time with Agertha, of what he should have changed. Of what he should have done different.

All those years ago Dis had warned him, she warned him that if he kept on going along the path that he was on that he would lose the one thing that meant so much to him. Foolishly he had though she was speaking of Erebor, that if he did not change tactics that he would never reclaim Erebor as he has always wished to do. In hindsight, Thorin wished he could have done different by Agertha, that he would have realized she was always standing by him…..supporting him no matter how his temperament was.

Agertha was a hell of a woman, one that he never knew he wanted and never thought that he deserved to have. She and Drifa had been connected at the hip ever since they were but dwarflings, and she was reserved but had a fierce temper that when it came out you will wish you were not in the immediate vicinity. His love had been the one woman who wasn't intimidated by him nor feared becoming involved because of what his status was; she could coerce him into speaking even when he did not and then Erebor fell and he was at a loss what to do and in the end it resulted in him pushing Agertha farther and farther away until it was too late to make up for what he had done.

"Hello handsome," a short, even by dwarf standards, dwarven woman said coming up to Thorin with a coy smile on her face. "Like me to keep you company?" she asked as she eyed him up.

Thorin barely glanced at her before he waved his hand in a shooing motion, "I have no need of company, and have not for years now." He stated harshly. "Go bother someone else with your services." He stated to her.

"Everyone needs company." The woman persisted as she gently ran a finger along his hand, apparently trying to entice him but it was not going very well. "What do you say?"

"I said leave." Thorin said vehemently with a glare on his face as he looked at this woman, there weren't many dwarven women who chose….that trade to make money, but he had never been fond of those who chose it, it was a despicable path.

The woman gave a small huff before with a swish of her skirt she left to go and see if she could convince some other dwarf men into her bed.

Years ago Thorin had been happy, he was not bitter and angry about everything nor did he push people away like he did to Agertha. In fact he had intended on marrying her one day, he was going to make her his wife and they would have such beautiful children. Agertha would have made a beautiful mother, she would have been beautiful while pregnant and now he missed his chance at that because he could not help but be driven by the thought of Erebor and by the anger he felt over losing all he and the other dwarves had ever known.

He hoped one day, before he died that he would have the chance of seeing Agertha one last time, that she would come away from wherever it is that she was hiding and she would smile upon him one time before he took his last breath. That is all that Thorin can ask for.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Village near Hobbiton ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The sun was just barely setting when Gandalf, Drifa, Agertha and Brynn had arrived at the village that Gandalf had told them of. The sky was turning colors of orange, yellow and red over the mountain's that were far past the village and but a small image on the horizon.

When Gandalf spoke of the village earlier, when they had first arrived in Middle-Earth, Brynn will admit that she had imagined something from Game of Thrones or King Arthur, she had thought it would be a bit more medieval looking and more so run down and disgusting but it was actually quite decent looking.

"Just in time," Gandalf spoke as he led the women through the village. "Any later and we would not be able to get in without a bit of persuasion. They shut the gate at night fall." He stated and nodded welcomingly to one of the street vendors.

The village was good sized as a matter of a fact, there were a good number of villagers bustling about even for it being so close to night time and there was an array of vendors lined in the street's in small little shops and of the like; clothes, weapons, jewelry, boot makers, grocer, and even a sparing few had some books which was uncommon seeing as most common folk were not the sort to read. It was impressive.

"Wow," Brynn said as she looked at almost every single thing that the group passed, not wanting to miss anything that might be of interest.

Brynn couldn't believe that these were the sort of villages that her mother and Agertha had travelled to when they had lived in Middle-Earth, and that they had seen even larger and grand cities that were built into and on stone.

Drifa glanced over at her daughter and saw the eagerness clearly written on her face and gave a small but happy smile at that, a rare thing for her to do. Brynn looked like she was a small child once again, looking at almost every possible thing she possibly could and hoping that she would see something exciting going on. Kids always want to see where the action is happening at. It was the same expression Brynn had worn when Drifa had taught her how to carve her first wooden toy animal.

"Is it what you had expected to see?" Drifa asked as she took a good look at the people who were wandering around the village; a good portion were human, a few were dwarves all of whom were men and even a couple hobbits going about too.

Brynn looked at her mother with amazed eyes and then back at the village, "Nope," she said with a shake of her head and glanced in a weapons shop that they passed by, she wouldn't mind going in there and getting her father's sword sharpened. "This was not exactly what I had been expecting when Gandalf said we were heading towards a village. I was thinking more along the lines of Monty Python and the Holy Grain. Or maybe ancient Viking style village…..not this." She said with a gesture of her hands. "I did not envision this."

"Nothing is like the movies," Agertha said and then gave a snort. "They're always too clean in the movies, too unrealistic for me." She joked earning a laugh from Brynn and Drifa, and even Gandalf who had been listening.

"Come my ladies," Gandalf called as he paused in his long strides that he had been doing so that Agertha, Drifa and Brynn could catch up to him, he really must remember that their legs were not nearly the length of his. "The Inn is just over there and I have need to talk with the barkeep about something of importance. So please do try and keep up." He said and then gestured towards a building that seemed to be the tallest in the village, though it was no match against any of the skyscrapers of the modern world.

Following after Gandalf and heading into the Inn, Brynn immediately started to feel a bit uneasy and out of place. Normally she didn't mind when people stared, she was used to it seeing as people in the other world were not used to seeing people of such short stature unless they had a medical condition but here, in Middle-Earth she was basically an outsider. It unnerved her to be stared at, she had half a mind to just turn and glare at them and give them a piece of her mind but it was still her first day in Middle-Earth. Its best to keep the violence for another day.

"Why are they staring?" Brynn questioned quietly as she stepped closer to her mother and Agertha and narrowed her eyes a tad as she looked at all of the people in the Inn.

Just as Agertha was about to answer Gandalf spoke, "They are staring Brynn, because of the odd choice of clothing that you all are wearing." He pointed out politely to her and gave her a small smile. "Your clothes may not be all that strange to you, but here they are an odd sight to see." He whispered.

Drifa picked at her t-shirt that she was wearing, "We'll have to get replacement clothes soon." She said and then looked over at her daughter who of course had to wear her most ripped up pair of jeans that she owned.

After that comment Gandalf approached the bar where a rather fat, but kind looking older man that had greying red hair with quite the impressive beard was standing. Brynn would have sworn that he was a dwarf, but the fact that he was in similar height with Gandalf made her realize that he was not.

"Gandalf," the man rumbled deeply and smiled which showed that he had lost a good amount of his teeth over the years, Brynn wondered if he was really able to eat all that much because of that fact. "Was wonderin' if ya was going to be comin' back soon or not." He said and filled a mug with some kind of alcohol and all but slammed it down in front of Gandalf who took it with a thankful smile on his face.

Gandalf took a small drink of the ale before he addressed the portly man, "Gaherit my friend," he said and handed a few coins to him. "I thank you for watching over my horse and the rest of my belongings whilst I was away." He said with a small nod of his head to the other man. "Now I am in need of a favor, I need a room for these three ladies."

Gaherit leaned over the bar and looked down at the three female dwarves with wide eyes, surprised to see their sort in his Inn especially since the females of their kind seemed to stick close to home and did not venture outside the cities that often.

"Haven't seen your kind here before," Gaherit said to them bluntly as he rubbed at his reddish/grey beard thoughtfully. "Female dwarves don't come here."

Hearing that Brynn raised a brow at him with hands on her hips, and was about to ask what exactly he meant by that but before she was even able to take one step forwards Agertha leaned towards the bar and started speaking to the man.

"That's because we're some of the more…..adventurous few," Agertha said as she smiled at him in a charming fashion. "We're some of the more peculiar Dwarven women out there; the rest would prefer to stay at him while we would like to see the countryside." She explained to him. "Don't know why more of our kind wouldn't wish to see the world, but alas, it must fall to us to pick up their slack in the adventure department."

"So it seems ta be," Gaherit said with a shake of his head. "Too bad too, ya kind aren't too bad on the eyes." He stated as he looked at Agertha, who just gave him a shake of the head. "Have a drink on me, looks to me that ya been travelin' for a long while now."

Hearing that Gandalf looked up from his ale and at Gaherit, "Am I to assume that you will be offering up a room for these ladies?" Gandalf questioned as he looked at the barkeep with commanding eyes. "They will but need it for a day at the most."

Not even a moment passed before Gaherit nodded, "Yea, course they can stay in one the rooms. Can stay in the one next ta yers in fact." He replied with a toothy smile. "I'm honored to have ya great dwarf ladies grace me humble establishment, hope in the future to see more of ya women folk wanderin' about."

It was Drifa who answered, "It our pleasure, good barkeep to come here." She said and gave a small bow to him.

The barkeep nodded at them quickly before he had to move off and take care of a few other customer's that were sitting in a corner of the tavern and were getting rowdy, meanwhile the four travelers sat quietly at the bar without even talking all that much and finished the drink's that Gaherit had given to them when they arrived.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Drifa, Agertha, Brynn & Gandalf ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Now," Gandalf said in a tone of importance as he, Drifa, Agertha and Brynn arrived in the room that Gaherit said that they would be able to use for the night, with minimal charge. "I am sorry to say this but I must leave you this night." He said bluntly to the females who had situated themselves around the room and got themselves comfortable.

"What?!" Drifa asked in shock, looking at Gandalf as if he had completely lost his mind.

In Drifa's mind Gandalf had brought them here to Middle-Earth, he had asked for a favor from Drifa who would had really rather stated in the other world and not come back to the one place that she had an intense dislike for, and now Gandalf was saying that he was leaving them when they still needed to get to Hobbiton.

Gandalf gave a bit of a grimace, "I cannot continue on with you from here, there are other errands I must run before Thorin and his company arrive at Bilbo's house on the morrow." He explained as he looked into the eyes of Agertha, Brynn and finally Drifa who seemed to have fire and anger in her eyes. "I wish to make sure that you get to our destination safely, but I must run these errands and gather supplies so that this adventure goes on smoothly for these dwarves."

Hearing that Drifa shook her head fiercely, she may have grown up here in Middle-Earth and travelled plenty of times through the land alone or with only a few others but this was different now, she had Brynn with and has not been in Middle-earth for many years. It was dangerous here. She had assumed that since Gandalf had asked them to come that he would see them through to the end, to Hobbiton and then would take them to the Blue Mountain's – Gandalf was helping on this quest not accompanying it as far as she understood.

"You are leaving us, now?" Drifa said with an angry expression on her face, anger which was hiding the fear she had of travelling with only her daughter and Agertha. "You can't do that Gandalf. You brought us here, you asked us to come back here and we came and now you must finish this and see us to this Hobbit…this Bilbo Baggins house." She said to him determinedly and crossed her arms with a huff.

Gandalf gave a sigh at that and ran a hand through his stringy grey hair, "I must Drifa," he said to her gently in an appeasing fashion, hoping that she would calm down. "I have confidence in you three, you are all strong and I have no doubts that you will make it safely to Bag End. You are not feeble nor weak women." He attempted to reason with her.

"Drifa," Agertha said as she placed a careful hand on her friend's upper arm. "We will be fine. You have little to worry your silly head over." She said with a playful smile sent towards her but Drifa just shook her head.

Drifa looked away from Agertha and towards Gandalf before she breathed in harshly, "You made no mention of this little tid bit of information when I…..very reluctantly might I add, agreed to come back here. To the one place that holds so many painful memories for me." She pointed out to him and clenched her fist to keep herself from losing her mind completely and doing something stupid like attempting to hit Gandalf. "I did say some callous things yesterday; I said that I cared naught for my people. For my brother's, but I do care and if our mere presence can change the fate of the dwarves then I will do so but that does not change the fact that you are abandoning us before we even made it to Hobbiton." She said darkly and stood up from her seat and poked him harshly in the chest. "You started this so you should finish it."

As this exchange was going on both Brynn and Agertha were watching with close attention; they have both been on the receiving end of Drifa's anger and it is not a very pleasant experience to say the least but Gandalf didn't even seem to be fazed. Drifa wasn't yelling as of yet, nor was she throwing anything at the wizard so that was a good sign at least. She wasn't nearly as angry as she was making herself out to be otherwise she would be yelling and swearing up a storm.

"I cannot and will not be going with you Drifa," Gandalf said in a commanding tone of voice and stood up from the chair he had seated himself in which made Drifa shrink back but didn't lose the fierce expression that was on her face. "I would more than be willing to continue on with you if I could, but I can't my dear dwarf maiden. I must do these errands for the quest." He said, urging her to understand his reasoning's. "Trust me when I speak this, you all are able to defend yourselves and have well-made weapons. And you are dwarves and I know that you are a ferocious bunch and fight just as fiercely. You will be fine travelling to Hobbiton. It is less than a day's journey from here."

Losing steam Drifa plopped down onto the edge of one of the beds, "I did not agree to-"

"You are scared, I understand." Gandalf said looking at her with a concerned expression on his face. "You have not been here in many years and what your last few months were like were horrific, and I cannot say how sorry I am that those things had been done to you." He stated and crouched down in front of her and looked into her brown eyes. "I remember a woman, a woman who asked me to help her leave this world and she was the type that would not take no as an answer. She was strong and determined and fought off orcs in order to live and make sure her daughter lived." He said to which Drifa gave a hint of a smile. "You are brave and strong and you will be fine. You are only travelling to Hobbiton, you are not venturing to the forest of Lorien or Mount Doom."

At that Drifa gave an annoyed huff, "Damn you for making me see reason Gandalf," she said which made the wizard smile, and Brynn and Agertha laugh at how annoyed Drifa sounded at that simple statement.

Drifa did understand that Gandalf needed to prepare things for Thorin and his company so they could go on their quest and have things go as smoothly as possible, she may not be going on this quest nor does she intend to but she understood things needed to happen to be sure it went safely.

"How will we know where this meeting is taking place?" Brynn asked as she looked at Gandalf curiously and leaned against one of the wall's that was near the door.

Agertha nodded her agreement, "Yes, is there going to be a sign that says 'Thorin and Co here'? Or something along those lines?" she asked in a joking manner, though it did hide the fact that she was a tad bit nervous about seeing Thorin again after so many years, and the feelings that she had for him resurfacing.

With a hearty laugh Gandalf tapped his chin with a finger a couple times, "It will be something akin to that I suppose," he said to her. "There will be a symbol on the door that will make it obvious that it is the home that you are looking for. You shan't miss it. But if there are troubles just as for the home of Bilbo Baggins and someone will surely point you in the right direction." He stated and looked out the window in the room and gave a small sigh, he needed to get going if he wanted to stay on schedule. "I need for you all to arrive after Thorin and his comrades do, in order for that happen you must leave by two in the afternoon tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"We will do that," Drifa said with reluctance, she was unsure about travelling alone to Hobbiton, it may not be a few days away but for three females to travel by themselves it might as well be – there's no knowing what they may end up running into. "We will arrive after Thorin and the others, have no worries."

Smiling Gandalf nodded at the three women, "I thank you, and I truly do appreciate you all dropping your lives in Earth to come back here, to come to Middle-Earth even though it is not nearly as safe as where you had been residing." He said and then looked to Drifa with a mixed expression. "I will see you all soon."

So with that said and done Gandalf grabbed the small bag that he had with him, gave one last look to the three women before he left the room and headed out of the inn to gather his horse so that he could continue on to do the errands that he must do before he meets up with the other dwarves at The Green Dragon. Balin and a couple of the other dwarves were meeting up with him there before they all started to make the trek to Bilbo's house for the meeting.

"Now what?" Brynn asked as she glanced between her mother and Agertha expectantly, with wonder in her eyes. "Can we go check out the village?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Drifa immediately stated to her. "We must wait not." She told her. "And get some sleep, we've all been travelling for much of the day we could do with some much needed rest."

At that Brynn gave a disappointed pout but said nothing else, her mother's overprotectiveness was a bit of a damper at times. And a bit ridiculous with how much she tried to coddle her, you'd think that Brynn was twenty-five not nearly seventy-four years old.

So with that Brynn all but flopped onto one of the beds and hoped the next day would come sooner rather than later.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Gandalf ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Gandalf mounted his horse, and quickly made his way out of the village that he left the three dwarf women in. As much as he would have loved to stay and take them to Bilbo's home in Hobbiton himself, it was just not happening that way considering he had many things to do before he and all of the other dwarves arrived in the unsuspecting Hobbit's home. Especially things that had to do with Thorin.

Giving one final smile towards the village and the inn Gandalf continued on down the road; yes the coming adventure was going to end up being far more interesting than anyone one involved had intended for it to be.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~_ Authors Note ~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~~_

A/N: So here is the newest installment of the story, I hope you all liked this chapter I espeically liked writing it and tweaking it different than the original one i had written. I liked Writting the part with Thorin. Anywho thank you for reading, i love you all so much and appreciate when you review and favorite my stories. So please keep those coming.

Quote 1: "We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds."

― Libba Bray

Quote 2: "The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby


	7. Chapter 7: Revised

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: So here you go, please i do hope you like this and if you really like it please tell me what you liked and leave a review. Smooches darlings!

Chapter seven

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ Next Day: Brynn, Agertha & Drifa ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Here," Agertha said as she grabbed in her bag as they were travelling down a road towards Hobbiton. "Eat this." She said and tossed an apple at Brynn.

Brynn managed to catch the apple in mid-flight and grinned when she saw what kind it was, "Green." She said happily and took a bite of it, she hated sweet apples but give her the green sour ones and she was more than content. "My favorite."

Looking back at Brynn's expression Drifa couldn't help but let a ghost of a smile appear on her face, "You're such a child at times." She spoke with a shake of her head.

All Brynn did was shrug, "I'm your child, what did you expect?" she questioned and looked ahead at the road. "How long do you think it will take to get there?" she asked.

"Gandalf said it wasn't too far," Drifa spoke. "Hopefully we will arrive an hour or so after nightfall."

The three women had done as Gandalf had asked and left the village with the friendly Innkeeper after two in the afternoon so that they could arrive on time to this Bilbo Baggins house, and make sure to get there after that Thorin and the other's as well. In fact, Drifa, Agertha and Brynn had ended up leaving a bit late almost two hours late even. It had been an exciting and eventful couple of days and they had needed to get some rest but that rest just ended up turning into a lot longer than they had originally intended. What mattered was that they were now on their way to Hobbiton.

"I still would have preferred to sit down at the Inn and have some of that stew on the way out," Brynn said and her mouth was almost watering at the thought of the delicious smelling stew she spied on their way out, she almost would have rather been even more late just so she could have a bite of that.

Hearing that Drifa rolled her eyes at her daughter, "Now who is sounding like the whiney little teenager?" she asked rhetorically as she eyed the woods they were near; never know when something unexpected may pop out of nowhere. "We were already late as it was, and I would prefer to not have a miffed wizard on our hands because a certain one of us wanted to sit down to a real meal." She pointed out to her and gave a grunt at the weight of her two bags that she had strapped to her back, along with a short sword.

Agertha slung her arm around Brynn's shoulder as they were walking, "Don't worry Brynn, that apple'll hold ya over and in no time we will be at this Hobbit's house and Hobbit's enjoy food even more than Dwarves do and that's saying something." She said and winked at her. "They eat almost seven or eight meals a day, there will be plenty of food to eat."

The first time Agertha had met a hobbit had been with her father, when she was but a small dwarfling and she had been amazed at the amount of food they kept in the pantry and at the number of meals they ate in a day. After the fourth meal or so she, her father and the Hobbit shared Agertha could not force herself to eat any more food than she had already.

"Do they have sandwiches here?" Brynn asked wide eyed at her mother and Agertha, she was rather fond of sandwiches and they were her usual go to food when she was hungry. "Do they even know what they are?" she questioned in a beyond serious tone of voice, the thought of not having sandwiches was appalling to think about.

When Brynn said that, especially in the tone of voice that she used Drifa couldn't help but laugh out loud at her daughter. It was true that some of the foods that the three had become accustomed to over the years were more than likely unknown to the world of Middle-Earth; there was no pop, better than sex cake, chicken finger baskets, sandwiches or ice cream or even pizza and so many other things. It was going to take a bit of adjustment to get used to the lack of modern foods but Drifa knew that Brynn would be able to improvise and make some of the foods that she loved so dearly from Earth…..well most of everything at least.

"I'm sure that you wi-" Agertha started to say but was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise coming from within the woods that the pathway/road that they were on were surrounded by.

Looking towards the woods all three women stopped talking and looked cautiously towards the woods where the god awful sound was coming from; it sounded like someone was running while cutting down trees and it sounded as if someone was grunting and dying at the same time and there were even a few growls mixed in there as well. It was not pleasant in any sort of way or form.

"Ma?" Brynn asked as she stepped closer to her mother and looked at her with an anxious face, the sounds were starting to make her nervous especially the closer they got to them. "What's goin-"

Before Brynn was able to finish that thought three hideous looking creatures suddenly burst forward and out of the cover of the tree's and right in front of the three dwarven women. The first thought that Brynn had was that these…..creatures were completely disgusting and revolting. The y had overly wrinkled and oily skin, odd pieces of jewelry on their faces and were barely wearing all that much for clothing but they looked so and totally disgusting. Brynn would have guessed Orc's or Goblins.

"Well fuck," Brynn deadpanned and looked hesitantly towards these new creatures, she could fight sure but she's never put it into use other than when sparring and that didn't exactly count all that much.

"Get out of here!" Drifa yelled suddenly as she pushed her daughter away from her and down the road, she hoped that she was a fast enough runner that she could make it away from them before these orc's attacked them. "Go!"

Brynn wanted to listen, she wanted to leave and save her hide but at the same time she couldn't….wouldn't leave her mother and Agertha to face these three orc's by themselves. Over the years Brynn has been trained in how to fight by Agertha and her mother, and she was not going to make that a completely waste of time. She would fight with all she had, these orc's were rather short compared to the ones she had learned about so it would be a bit easier for her to fight them.

She was terrified that was for sure, Brynn has never been so scared in her life but she just had to forget about her fear, or try to and concentrate on the situation at hand. She needed to help Aggie and her mother fight these things.

"Dwarves," one of the orc's growled, saliva dripping down it's chin and staring at the tree as if they were good enough to eat and paying especial attention to Brynn.

Once orc had inhaled deeply, nostril's flaring. "Dwarf women at that. Don't get to taste your kind often." He spoke with a sinister grin on his face.

Brynn gave a grimace, she never could stand the cannibal movies back in the other world like Hannibal or the Hill's Have Eyes, and apparently the evil creatures of this world are into that.

"Don't even think about getting a taste of me, I am not for dinner." Brynn said fiercely, with surprising confidence and withdrew her father's sword…..her sword from its sheath and faced them with a resolved face.

"Brynn!" Drifa said looking at her daughter incredulous, not believing she just said that to the orcs.

The tallest of the bunch grinned widely showing it's rather yellow misshapen teeth and looked at the other orc's that were with him, "Kill them." He said simply and so, with that the orc's attacked Drifa, Agertha and Brynn.

Drifa had to quickly block the attack that was coming at her from one of the orc's, it swung it's crudely shaped blade at her but she managed to barely duck in time before she swung her own sword towards it and blocked the second attack that was coming tat her. Yes, this would be the perfect time for Gandalf to have been here to help them.

"Damn orcs," Drifa said and with all of the force that she had pushed her sword out towards the orc and made him stumble back a couple feet. "Why haven't you died out yet!" she stated furiously and looked at the orc she was fighting with narrowed eyes and swung her sword at him savagely, her sword might be a bit on the short and old but it was well made and just as deadly.

At the moment Brynn was doing all she could to remember the training that Agertha and her mother had been teaching her over the years, this was a life and death situation and was not the time to suddenly forget all that has been ingrained in her mind.

The orc that she was fighting suddenly growled in annoyance and brought his blade down harshly where Brynn was standing but she managed to twist out of the way and jump back a couple feet, she could have sworn it had cut her hair at least a little but it seemed it was still in its original bun. Readying herself, Brynn took a deep breath before she swung her sword at the orc and she did hit him but she only managed to cut him in the arm a bit, and it wasn't even that deep or where a major artery was located at.

Without a sign even, the orc suddenly hit Brynn hard with its arm that wasn't holding the blade and knocked her to the ground. It muddled her mind for a moment, but she was still able to roll across the gross in time to miss the orc slamming it's blade down where she had been lying only seconds earlier. She was a dwarf, a hit like that would only stun her for a couple seconds at the most.

"Brynnhilda!" Drifa screamed when she saw that the orc had almost rammed a blade into her daughter.

Drifa did not like that her daughter was fighting against an orc, not one bit and in fact she would have preferred her to have run off towards Hobbiton. But of course Drifa was gifted with a daughter who was a lot like Drifa herself and a lot like her father which meant she very rarely backed down from a challenge or danger. And an Orc is a challenge.

Sick of fighting and being unable to see if her daughter was all right, if she was injured or being unable to help Brynn with the orc she was fighting, Drifa suddenly lashed out at her orc's chest and gave it a rather large sized gash that was bleeding profusely – yes, she still had the skill. Drifa then narrowed her eyes at the orc and spun a bit and kicked it with all of her might and was satisfied when she heard a definite crack, she hoped that she had at least cracked, if not broken a rib or two on the thing. Orc's though didn't feel pain like usual people would, you could stick a knife all of the way through the chest and it would keep fighting as if it wasn't even injured.

Looking at the orc with the darkest and most hateful glare that she could possibly muster, Drifa just went at the orc with all of her might and all of the skill that she possibly possessed. With only the ferocity a mother could muster Drifa hit, slashed, cut and swiped at the orc that she was fighting against with all of the might she had in her rather short statured body. She ducked, parried, jumped and twisted out of the way of the dangerous blade that the orc held onto and only received a few minor scrapes and cuts so far.

With one final yell that ended up sounding more like a battle cry Drifa looked at the Orc hatefully and did a run and jumped into the air and landed right on his chest and before it was able to get a blow in Drifa grabbed the small knife that she had strapped to her belt and shoved it in the middle of his forehead. Effectively killing the thing, she hated orc's and now that she was back in Middle-Earth she hated them even more. They were ruthless creatures.

"Brynnhilda!" Drifa yelled frantically as she shoved herself up and off of the orc that she just finished off and looked around worriedly for her blonde haired daughter, whom she last saw fighting one of the two larger orc's. "Answer me!"

Hearing the tone of voice her mother was using Brynn turned away from where the head and the now headless body of the orc was that she had just fought and turned around and looked at her mother with a wide grin, she was rather proud of how that fight went and that she had protected herself well against the orc. In hindsight, the fact that she was grinning while standing over a dead, bloodied up body was probably a bit on the creepy side but she was proud of herself for putting her fighting skills to good use.

"Thank Mahal!" Drifa said as she caught sight of her daughter. "Don't scare me like that ever again child, I think I almost died from a heart attack." She said and looked her daughter up and down to be sure there were no injuries on her person. "I am too old to handle something of this sort again." She said and then suddenly, before Brynn was able to muster a response to that, Drifa pulled her daughter into a tight hug and kissed her temple thankfully.

From her captured position of being hugged quite tightly by her mother, Brynn glanced over at Agertha with a questioning gaze who just responded by giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"You good Drifa?" Agertha asked as she carefully approached the mother and daughter, she didn't want to interrupt the moment but they did still have a bit of travelling to do. "No injuries?" she questioned as she spotted a small scratch or two on her friend.

Taking a deep calming breath Drifa stepped away from Brynn and looked towards Agertha and gave her a small smile. "Yes Aggie, I am fine. Nothing too life threatening. I promise you." She said to her and then looked her daughter over to be sure she didn't have any injuries and then gave her an admonishing look and put her hands on her hips. "What in the hell were you thinking girl? You could have gotten yourself killed, yet you stayed and fought?" she demanded of her but continued on before Brynn could reply to that angry question. "I told you to run, why did you not do as I told you?" she questioned her desperately.

At that Brynn pulled away from her mother and crossed her arms defiantly, "I am not going to run away from a fight, where both you and Agertha were in danger. I am not a scared little cat who runs at the first sign of danger. You should know better, that is not who I am mother." She spat unbelievably, she couldn't believe that her mother would think that she would actually listen to her when she told her to run away, Brynn might have been frightened but that doesn't mean that she's a coward. "You and Agertha taught me how to fight, you said that you wanted me to be able to defend myself if I ever needed to, you said dad would have wanted me to know how to fight."

"I know," Drifa said with a heavy sigh. "I just do not wish any harm to come to you, you are my daughter Brynn." She told her quietly. "Please understand that."

Agertha watched as the mother and daughter were having a bit of….whatever they were doing, it wasn't arguing because the two would have been yelling if that was the case but they were putting their opinions out there – yes, maybe that was the phrase.

"You would prefer that I ran away from the danger?" Brynn asked to which Drifa nodded more than agreeable to. "You wanted me, a grown dwarf that knows how to fight and how to handle a sword, to run away in fright while you and Agertha fought off the orcs when you could have another person to help you?" she questioned with a raised brow and crossed her arms.

"Yes," Drifa said a bit reluctantly, not feeling nearly as passionate about her daughter running away from the danger as she had in the first place.

Agertha shook her head at her friend, sometimes Drifa was much too protective for her own good and she really needed to let Brynn be herself and do what she wishes to do rather than protecting her from everything that may cross her path.

"Drifa," Agertha spoke. "Brynn handled herself well. I saw her, she was everything we could have hoped for her to be and more. Ragnivir would be proud to call her daugther. Fighting as fiercely as any warrior would." She said and sent a small smile to Brynn.

When Agertha said that Drifa gave a heavy sigh and looked to her daughter who had a bit of orc blood on her face, she knew that her daughter was strong and that if she even had an ounce of her father in her that she could handle herself well but Drifa couldn't help but be over protective and treat Brynn as a child. Brynn was her baby, her only child and she just wanted to keep her safe.

"You could have gotten yourself killed Brynn," Drifa stated softly as she wiped the bit of orc blood off of her daughter's face with the pad of her thumb.

Brynn scoffed at that statement, "Pfft, like I'm about to let that happen. I still have to annoy you and Aggie or at least a few more decades. No orc is gonna get in the way of that plan." She replied smirking at her mother and Agertha. "I haven't even turned you grey yet."

Drifa ruffled up her daughter's hair before playfully pushing her away, "You are lucky that I love you daughter, especially with that sharp tongue of yours." She said to her.

"As fun as battling the orcs together was," Agertha said looking at Brynn and Drifa. "I do think it would be wise to continue on. It is getting late and we still have a bit to go until we arrive in Hobbiton." She stated to the two.

For a moment Drifa looked away from her daughter and over at the dead orcs, one had its head cut off, that was Brynn's kill, one had a large knife stuck in its chest which was the one that Agertha dealt with and then there was her's. Looking from them and up to the sky, she agreed with Agertha, the darkness of the night was starting to come and she would much prefer to be closer to Hobbiton when it gets to be pitch black rather than still a good walk away.

"Yes," Drifa said with a nod of her head. "We should get on our way." She stated and picked up her fallen bags and slung them over her shoulder and looked at Brynn and Agertha expectantly.

Quickly grabbing their things that had fallen during the battle with the orc's, the three sheathed their weapons of choice and then continued on travelling towards Hobbiton. Towards Bilbo Baggins house.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Few Hours Later : Hobbiton ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

When the three had finally reached Hobbiton it was rather dark outside and the stars were shining brightly up in the sky, the stars gave enough light that the three were able to easily see the land of this part of Middle-Earth. It was different from anything that Drifa or Agertha had ever seen while living in Middle-Earth; it looked as if not one ounce of evil had ever touched the lands.

Brynn had raised her brows when she saw what the hobbits called 'houses', especially considering they were not houses at all but rather homes dug into the side of hills with great circular doors. The hills of these lands that these houses were made into reminded Brynn of her visit to Ireland that she, her mother and Agertha had taken almost twenty years ago.

"There are doors in the side of the hills," Brynn stated simply as she looked at yet another house with a questioning glance. "Hobbits live in the hills?" she said and blinked a few times to be sure she really was seeing these so called doors.

At that Agertha gave a snort of amusement, "yes Brynn, there are doors in the side of these hills here. And guess what," she mocked. "Hobbits live in them."

Brynn gave her a dry look, "Oh ha ha, you enjoying making fun of my lack of knowledge?" she asked sarcastically and crossed her arms in annoyance.

At those words Drifa grimaced but pushed those thoughts away, "Come on, we still have a few more doors to look at. It's unbelievable how hard it is to find one simple door with a marking on it." She said with a shake of her head.

For a few moments the three walked in comfortable silence, Brynn wondering what exactly the inside of a hobbit hole looked like since it was built into the ground and whatnot. She hoped that the hobbit hole that they were looking for wasn't filled with worms and dirt and nasty little bugs that she would definitely scream like a girl over – she couldn't stand bugs. Monsters yes, bugs not so much.

"Are Hobbits like the people version of Rabbits?" she asked randomly as she studied all of the Hobbit holes that they were passing by.

Both Drifa and Agertha looked back at Brynn as if she had lost her mind, "What?" Agertha asked giving the girl an odd look.

Brynn gestured towards all of the doors, "Well they live in holes like rabbit's do, and they seem to have quite a few houses. So I am going to go out on a limb here and say they repopulate like rabbits too." She said with a shrug. "No other explanation." She stated simply and walked on ahead of her mother and Agertha searching for the house with a symbol on the door.

"You are an odd one." Drifa said shaking her head at Brynn.

The three had walked around Hobbiton for another fifteen or so minutes before finally finding the Hobbit Hole that's door had a symbol on it, the door was a dark green color and had a simple brass bell handing down and in reach. The garden was filled with many different kinds of flowers and from what Brynn could see past that was a small vegetable garden. It looked homey.

"Sounds like quite the party," Agertha said with a smirk on her face, dwarves were always known for their loud and rambunctious parties, and singing of course.

Drifa smiled at that and peered in through the window but could only see a few people, "It always is when it comes to dwarves."

Brynn got really quiet after that statement and looked towards the door with a bit of trepidation, she was about to walk in a house that was filled with other dwarves…her people. It was safe to assume that Brynn wasn't exactly sure how she was supposed to act or what she was supposed to say really, she didn't want to say the wrong thing and have the dwarves hate her for the rest of her long life. And she would be meeting her uncle's for the first time. She would finally get to know dwarves who she could stay friends with until her last dying breath and would no longer have to worry about them finding out about her having a long life, Brynn hated it when she had to eventually distance herself from good friends because of that fact. Brynn loved her mother and Agertha dearly, but she needed more interaction with people who were dwarves, who she could become friends with and not fear them finding out what she really was. She wanted to be around other dwarves so that they could teach her more about her own culture, a culture that her mother didn't teach her everything about.

"Well here goes nothing," Agertha stated and then with a precise hand she rang the bell.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Author's Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~

A/N: Well here't the next chapter, two chapters in one day I feel proud. I know this one is a bit short but it was needed.

A/N2: just want to let you all know how much i love that you read my story and seem to enjoy it for the most part, i enjoy reviews more than anything so please do not hesitate to leave one!

Quote:

"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family. "

― Jim Butcher

Quote 2: "I'll protect you. I'll stand by you if anything happens."

― Fuyumi Soryo


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: As usual the only things that i own are my original characters

A/N: I wanted to write more but i didnt want the chapter to get too wordy and long so i will post the second half to this in the next couple of days, College started back up today so it may not be nearly as soon as i would like. Sorry dearies!

Chapter eight

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Bilbo's Home ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Bilbo Baggins has a house packed full and teeming with people; hobbit's more than enjoyed company and having one or two people for afternoon tea but Bilbo was not all that fond of having thirteen rather loud and rowdy dwarves who had not been invited to his home in the first place and are all but eating his pantry bare.

These people…..these dwarves had come into his home unexpectedly and waltzed in as if they owned the place and belonged there, some had even decided to pus ha few of his tables together so that everyone that would be arriving could all fit. A few even had the gall to use his grandfather's antique chairs…..completely deplorable of these uncivilized dwarves to do so. All Bilbo really wanted to do was close his eyes for a few moments and then when he opened them back up all of this would go away, that it would have been nothing but a part of a bad dream. He wanted the dwarves gone, and Gandalf who had initiated this whole fiasco.

"This….Hobbit is who you have chosen as the last member of our company?" Thorin questioned Gandalf as he looked over at Bilbo with great reluctance who, at the moment seemed to be having a conniption over how many dwarves were meandering around his home and eating his food. "He seems to be," Thorin paused a moment and gave the hobbit and skeptical once over who was grabbing at his hair in frustration. "Skittish." He finished and then turned to Gandalf with a raised and very doubtful brow at Gandalf before taking a generous drink of his ale.

Glancing away from Thorin's steely gaze, Gandalf looked towards where Bilbo was and couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the hobbit. It seemed that Bilbo has decided to collect any last remaining bits of food that he could and was now sitting in an unnoticeable corner guarding it from the dwarves' never ending hunger – of course hobbits would put more value in their food than anything else.

"Yes," Gandalf said as he turned back to Thorin's none too happy of a gaze. "I have chosen Bilbo as the last member of your quest, to accompany you as your burglar." He said with a tone of finality. "At times he may not seem like much, he is rather meek and a homebody as of right now, but he is a Took at heart." He said and paused for a moment. "He will surprise many of you, especially you Thorin Oakenshield, by the end of this quest. Of that I am more than certain."

Thorin gave an unconvinced scoff towards the grey wizard and shook his head, "He is not the sort made out for burglary, he can ba-"

Before Thorin had the chance to finish his sentence the bell at the front door of the house suddenly rang, and the moment that it did ring Bilbo gave out a loud and despairing groan. There were already much too many people in his home, a home that had been in his family for many years now and yet was invaded by these inconsiderate dwarves. By the Valar, all Bilbo hoped for was that whoever was at his front door would go away, and quickly at that. He refused to let any more people into his home.

"You expectin' someone laddie?" Dwalin questioned seriously as he slowly shifted and turned towards Bilbo with an expectant look to which the hobbit cower a bit at, Dwalin was a rather large and impressive looking dwarf that even a human would think twice about crossing.

"NO!" Bilbo all but screamed vehemently, he was beyond frustrated and confused as to why people kept on coming to his home when he did not invite anyone to his home in the first place, not even for a spot of afternoon tea. "I have not invited anyone here this night, I am not expecting anyone to be coming around, the least of all you lot!" He said and gestured towards all of the dwarves that were seated around the few tables that they had pushed together when they first started arriving there. "I simply cannot take anymore of you people in my home, not tonight and not ever again."

Gandalf looked at Bilbo with suppressed delight; there was no doubt in his mind that when this adventure comes to a close that Bilbo will be much more accepting and welcoming of having many people in his home at one time…especially this group of dwarves. Shifting his gaze away from Bilbo and towards the hallway that led to the front door of the home Gandalf could only assume that it was Agertha, Drifa and Brynn who had arrived finally – they were nearly an hour or more later than he had originally hoped for but they were here and that was all that mattered.

"Then who is it that is at the door Mr. Baggins?" Thorin questioned with an accusing look on his face as he turned towards Bilbo who was looking very similar to a scared rabbit.

Bilbo looked to Thorin for but a moment before quickly pulling his face away from him and stuttered an answer. "I….I hav…ven't a clue to who is here." He stated and felt quite small at the moment with everyone looking at him so expectantly.

Soon enough it was Gandalf who spoke up, saving Bilbo from an interrogation when in fact the Hobbit had no idea who was at the door, after all it was Gandalf who had invited these three new visitors. "The door is for me," he stated and looked over at Thorin but ignored the angry glower was directed at him from the dwarf King. "These three are great friends of mine, trustworthy too and I have asked them a favor in joining this meeting." He said and looked around the table at all of the dwarves for but a brief moment, but before any were able to start questioning him to his reasoning for inviting strangers to this meeting he went to go answer the door.

As Gandalf left Thorin was burning a hole in the back of the man's head with his heated glare; he was seething at the fact that Gandalf had spoken of his quest for Erebor to three unknown people and the fact that the wizard seemed to think it had been more than find to do just that. When Gandalf approached him all those months ago in Bree, telling him that it was time to reclaim his kingdom back from the dreaded dragon, Thorin had taken the advice that the wizard had willingly gave and thought of him as a wise soul. But now, after Gandalf had introduced him to the supposed 'burglar' and invited three unknown people to this meeting, Thorin was no questioning the wizard and his motives, and was feeling uncertain if he was trustworthy.

Not even a few moments later did Gandalf return to the dining room, but just as Thorin was about to stand up and confront the wizard and order these three supposed people out of the meeting he suddenly froze in shock. Not standing but a few feet from where he was seated were two very eerily familiar dwarf women whom he and a majority of everyone else had thought died decades ago.

It was Dwalin and Balin's younger sister Drifa, and Thorin's past love…Agertha.

"Dr…Drifa?" Dwalin asked uncertainly, his voice barely above a whisper as he stood up suddenly from his chair and stared at his sister in absolute shock. "Sister? Is that you?"

Balin clumsily got up from his chair and moved forward, "Impossible." He said, sharing the same shock that his younger brother felt at the fact of seeing their sister after seven decades of thinking that she had been dead. "How can it be? Tell us this is not some sort of hallucination." He stated desperately.

At that Drifa smiled softly at her two brothers and gave them a once over; Balin still looked the same, he had a bit whiter hair than the last time she saw him but he still had the same warm fatherly look on his face and he still had the same belly. Dwalin looked just as intimidating and burly as the last time she had seen him, but he no longer had a head full of hair but bald on top of his head that was covered with tattoo's, and if she looked closely Drifa was sure that there were a few new scars added to the collection than the last time that she had seen him.

"It is me," Drifa said with a watery smile and quickly wiped at her eyes and took a few cautious steps forward but then stopped herself. "It is me brother's, I promise you that it is truly me that is standing in front of you. This is no trick."

Drifa had never truly and completely realized how much she missed her older brothers who had raised her since she was but a dwarfling, not until this moment she didn't, it is as if she has repressed this feeling until she finally came face to face with her two brothers. Oh how badly Drifa wanted to just run into her two brothers embrace but she held herself back, she was afraid of what their reaction would be to her, to the fact that she was alive and let them think she was dead for all of these years. She felt guilty and ashamed of how she acted, no matter how old she was Drifa could feel like but a small child if her brothers gave her but one disappointed look.

"Drifa I cannot believe it," Balin stated with unhinged joy in his voice and without hesitation he stepped forward and soon wrapped his arms around his youngest sibling and pulled her to him and closed his eyes. "My sister…..there are no words." He stated softly and kissed her temple.

Drifa kept her arms wrapped around her brother and pulled herself as close to him as she possibly could, trying to find the comfort that she has missed so desperately and needed from him after so, so, so many years of being without it. Grasping at his jacket with tight fingers Drifa buried her face into his chest, his now white hair and beard tickling her a bit.

Both Dwalin and Balin looked at their young sister – who they had thought perished long ago – and were uncertain as to what they should do nor to what happened that she was now standing before them, alive and well, along with Agertha who had thought to have gone missing or killed herself of the grief. Attempting to pull away from his baby sister Balin stopped suddenly when he felt tears soaking through his undershirt and to his skin, and felt Drifa's shoulders subtly shaking with sobs.

"Shhh sister," Balin whispered into her ear as Dwalin moved forward and gently started rubbing soothing circles along her back. "You are all right; Dwalin and I have you now. We love you sister, and have missed you much." He stated as a pained yet thankful tear rolled down his face at the fact that he was holding his sister in his arms.

It was slightly terrifying for some of the other dwarves – the younger ones mostly, to see Dwalin acting in such a soft and comforting fashion to this female dwarf who they've now realized is his and Balin's sister. Never in all their lives has many of them seen Dwalin act in such a way; he has always been the stern, fierce and intimidating dwarf that no one would want to mess with. Seeing as he was now, it was bewildering and slightly frightening.

Reluctantly pulling away from Balin's warm hold Drifa took a deep breath and wiped at her tears, she hated letting people see her cry, and then gave a half smile to Balin to show that she was fine now.

"Are you okay sister?" Balin asked.

Drifa gave a nod of her head, "Yes, I am fine." She told him and then looked over at Dwalin but just as she was about to say something to him she was suddenly pulled into his arms and spun about the room a couple times, so much that she started to see double.

When Dwalin had finally released her from the spinning that he did, he held onto her arms gently to steady her and pulled her into a tight embrace and inhaled as deeply as he could. "My dear, little sister. Mahal knows how much I have missed you," he stated, feeling a sliver of peace for the first time in such a very long time. "I….I –" he was unable to even form a sentence so instead he just bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I have also missed you Dwalin," Drifa spoke quietly as she looked up into her brother's eyes and softly cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand and then looked towards Balin with a smile, not the smile that the brothers were used to…..this one seemed forced and full of sadness. "And you Balin." She said and sniffled a bit and tried ot ignore all of the eyes that were on the trio. "You haven't a clue how much I have missed you so much brothers. I am glad to see you once again."

Dwalin gave a smile to his sister and finally released her – it was a fight to release her after not seeing her for so long, he wanted to hold her and hug her for so long just to be sure that she was truly there. After releasing her Dwalin looked down into his sister dark eyes with a furrowed brow, he would love nothing more than to celebrate the fact that she lives but he wondered, how exactly was she still alive after he and Balin had found her home in disarray and his Brother-in-laws dead body laying upon the ground in his blood as well as orc's.

"I am more than happy that you are alive sister, I truly am." Dwalin started as he looked at his sister, then to his brother and then his sister once again. "For years Balin and I have thought of you dead, there wasn't a trace of you anywhere and we assumed….assumed you were taken by the orcs as a trophy of their kill." He swallowed. "For years I thought of myself as a failure to you, I was unable to protect you when I should have." He said with a downcast expression on his face. "But how do you live? I had seen the orcs in your former home, I saw-" he stopped himself unsure of how to broach the subject.

Balin stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on his sister's shoulder, "We found Ragnivir sister and we had assumed…..you all were dead after the scene in your home." He said to her as gently as he possibly could. "How do you still live and breathe?"

Taking a deep breath Drifa answered the question that all in the room – especially Dwalin, Balin and Thorin were wondering, how she was still alive when her husband was dead. "Gandalf." She answered simply.

Thorin took a deep breath before taking a good look at the two women from his past; Drifa and Agertha. There were so many memories that were brought to the front of his mind by the simple appearance of these two – Agertha especially. He remembered late nights of being with Agertha in her chambers, he recalled the thrill, the excitement and how aroused he felt when they sparred against one and another and when he watched her sparring. But those memories were of before Erebor fell prey to Smaug, before their world crashed down around them.

"What," Thorin began as he rubbed at his temples for a moment. "May I ask does Gandalf have to do with you being alive when we had thought you dead years ago?" he questioned with a serious look on his face.

"I helped them leave," Gandalf answered as he sat back in his seat and crossed his arms.

Suddenly, as if Balin had forgotten a very important fact, he looked to his sister with a panicked expression on his face and possibly a look of dread as well. "Brynnhilda?!" he exclaimed. "Where is she? Where is your child?" he asked her as he looked intently into her eyes.

Hearing those words Dwalin also looked towards his sister in a panicked fashion, "She lives? Yes?" he questioned and continued speaking before his sister was able to put a word in edge wise. "Tell me she is not…..she is not dead." He said shaking his head fiercely.

Dwalin and Balin both refused to believe such words, Dwalin especially. Dwalin could not and would not believe that his small infant niece had met her end along with Ragnivir when the orc's had attacked, it was too painful to imagine. Dwalin may have only met his niece but the one time but in that short amount of time that he spent with her was more than enough time to care deeply for her, and the simple thought of her not living was not an option.

"Brynn is alive," Drifa said placating her worrying brothers and then looked back towards the hallway that they had just walked down to reach where everyone was seated. "Balin, Dwalin I promise you that Brynn is perfectly fine. And all grown up now." She replied with a half-smile on her face and remembered over the years how Brynn had driven her to insanity at times. "She has grown into quite the dwarf-maiden."

Hearing that Balin looked at her and then where she and Agertha had come into the dining room but saw no sight of his niece, "Where is she?" he asked, it had always saddened him to think that his niece had died in such a horrific way but now to know, that she had not was a miracle.

Drifa gave a wry grin at that question, "Either still in the entry way or looking for some food, we didn't really get all that much for breakfast and only had some fruit for lunch seeing as we were running a bit late." She said with an amused shake of her head.

"I'll go and get here" Agertha said with a wide smirk on her face and looked over at Drifa who very subtly, so no one would be able to notice, gestured towards Thorin which Agertha glowered at her friend for, shook her head and then headed down the hallway to hunt Brynn down.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Brynn ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

So Brynn will be the first to admit that the inside of this Bilbo's Hobbit hole was not anywhere near being how she expected it to be; she was picturing dirt walls, bugs, insects…worms which she shuddered at the thought – worms were Brynn's downfall, they creeped her out to no ends.

This place was rather nice, a bit circular, but a nice looking home. It was a well-built place, with a lot of nice but older looking furniture that looked as if it was never used if the layer of dust on them was any indication and boy did he seem to have books upon books upon books.

Dropping her duffel bag near the door next to where her mother's and Agertha's were at, Brynn ventured a bit further down and away from the door but in the opposite direction that Gandalf had led her mother and Aggie and decided to investigate the house a bit. Down a bit and over in a small nook area was a table that was filled with dozens of maps some quite aged and frayed looking and other's a bit newer. Gently looking at a few and running her finger gently over the marks Brynn shook her head incredulously, how many maps does a person need.

"Map's and even more maps," Brynn said to herself. "Dear gods aren't they all the same?" she asked herself.

Just as suddenly as Brynn had said that there was suddenly a fierce tug on her ear.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Dining Room ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Moments after Agertha had left to go and retrieve Brynn there was the sound of Agertha giving a cackle of amusement and the obvious curse words being spoken by a younger female voice, and a few of the words that she was saying were quite impressive and possibly even a bit crude. A few of the dwarves' eyes widened that a female dwarf was using words such as those, the females of their race did swear but it was the males who were usually the most crude and imaginative with their curses.

"Fucking god damn it Aggie!" the younger female voice yelled with a huff of annoyance. "Let me the hell go," she complained. "I'm a grown ass woman, I can walk perfectly fine by myself thank you very much." She stated and then not even a second later there was a sound of a small scream which they all assumed was the younger female. "Ouch you son of a bitch! I have piercings Aggie, piercings that hurt when you pull on them. Be careful, yeah."

Agertha walked back into the dining room with a wide, proud grin on her face not a few seconds later did a younger dwarf female – Brynn, walk in right after her and rub at her sore ears and send a piercing glare in Agertha's direction, damn that red headed woman.

Personally Brynn thought that Agertha had been a tad bit forceful with pulling at her and bringing her to the dining room, she was…..hesitant to meet the other people of her own kind that were not Aggie or her mother. Sure she was all gung ho for coming to Middle-Earth and meeting her people and helping them, but that had all been hypothetical idea now that it's the real deal it's different. She's a bit scared, not that she would admit that under pain of death, but she was genuinely scared and didn't want anyone to hate her.

"Did you have to grab my ear so hard?" Brynn asked as she looked over at Agertha and crossed her arms under her chest, it was quite hard to cross your arms when you had a good sized chest. "And the one that had the most piercings it. That hurt ya know."

The moment that this girl had stepped into the room Kili couldn't help but give her a good look, it was hard to believe that this girl, Brynn, was the niece of Dwalin…..Balin yes, but Dwalin it was a bit harder to see. Dwalin and Brynn had all but no family resemblance; whereas the warrior dwarf was tall for a dwarf, stern looking and had tanned skin and dark hair this girl was barely taller than her mother, her skin was lighter and she had very curly and long blonde colored hair. One thing Kili found to be a nice change compared to all of the human villages that he and his brother had traveled to along with their uncle once in a while was that this Brynn seemed to have some meat on her bones and didn't look as if a simple wind would blow her over.

"Oh dearest brother," Fili whispered with a wide smirk on his face as he elbowed his younger brother sharply in the side to gain his attention. "You, baby brother are staring at Dwalin and Balin's niece." He grinned.

At that Kili gave a roll of his eyes to Fili, "Shut up." He said with a cross of his arms and turned towards where his uncle, Gandalf, Dwalin, Balin and the three dwarf women were at.

Bilbo stood and swallowed the nervous lump that was in his throat and looked towards the three women, two of whom were related to the rather intimidating looking dwarf Dwalin. He wanted to ask something so badly, and wanted to know why there were more people in his home yet again. He was starting to feel rather frazzled over everything that was going on.

"I thought dwarf women had beards," Bilbo blurted out suddenly, it wasn't exactly what he had meant to say and he gave a cringe of embarrassment when everyone turned to look at him.

Brynn looked towards the hobbit with a curious glance, so this was the hobbit Gandalf had told her about. "Do you believe everything that you read?" she questioned with a playful smile on her face. "Dwarf women don't have beards!" she said with a scrunched up nose and touched her smooth cheeks. "That would just be ridiculous, how would you be able to tell the men and woman a part then if they both had beards and whatnot?" she asked rhetorically and shook her head, she may not know a whole lot about her people but she did know a few things. "Myth's like that were spread to protect the women and whatnot. Silly, silly hobbit." She said simply.

Before Bilbo was able to respond to that new information Drifa stepped towards her daughter and directed her towards her two uncles who were looking at her in wonder, of all the images that they thought up of, of what Brynn would look like this was nothing of the sort.

"Brynnhilda," Drifa said softly to her daughter. "These are your uncles, my two brothers. Balin and Dwalin." She said gesturing to each one.

At that Brynn took a shaky deep breath, she was nervous and unsure if she should do or say something, and then was wondering if she did say something if she would say the wrong thing and then everyone would judge her on that small sentence and so many other things that were going about in her mind. Before Brynn was able to think too much longer of all of the possibilities she was interrupted by being engulfed in a hug by her larger uncle, Dwalin.

"Brynnhilda," Dwalin said ever so softly as he hugged her tightly to him, taking care to not squeeze her too tight or painfully, he learned from Drifa how to do it properly without hurting a girl. "You have grown much since the babe I had last held when you had come to visit me and Balin in the Blue Mountain's. You looked tiny in my arms then," he said to her as he stepped back to get a good look at her for a moment, and then stepped towards her once again and kissed her forehead. "More beautiful than I had imagined you to be and seem to take after your father."

Balin nodded his agreement as he grasped his niece by her hands gently, "Yes you do my dear," he said to her. "You swear like your father now rather than screaming like him when angry." He said and pulled her into a much gentler hug than Dwalin had and gave his sister and Agertha a sideways look. "I am sure it is not only your father that you had acquired that from.

At that Brynn gave a small laugh at that, many times she has been compared to her father because of her swearing….she may swear a bit too much, but it was good to know that it wasn't only she who pointed out the fact that her mother and Agertha both swore.

"I do seem to be quite skilled in the swearing department," Brynn stated with a grin on her face as she looked between her two uncles. "Though it's take me years to hone it to the level that it is at now."

Hearing that Gloin gave a good, deep laugh and leaned forward a bit on the wooden table and looked at Brynn. "Be proud of that dear child, be proud of the dwarf in you." He told her and gave her a sharp nod of the head before he took up his mug of ale and took a good drink of it.

Looking towards Brynn, Kili gave a wide grin. "The important question though is this," he stated and looked at her in concealed excitement. "Can you drink like a dwarf?" he asked her in a dead serious tone of voice.

In response to that Brynn put her hands on her hips challengingly, and then looked towards Kili with a smirk on her face, "Bet I could more than drink you under the table Master Dwarf," she stated to him teasingly.

This was something that Brynn had missed; teasing, joking around and having friends that she could do this with and being able to be herself without having to hide the fact that she wasn't all dwarf. Even when she had gone out drinking with her human friends – the ones she had actually managed to keep – she had to tone down her drinking, dwarves had a much higher tolerance than any human.

"I'll believe that when I witness it," Fili said with an unconvinced laugh as he looked at Brynn, he doubted that she would be able to keep up with any of the male dwarves, not even Ori, he's never seen a female dwarf be able to do so.

Bofur looked at the young dwarf maiden and gave a smile, "Bet you ten coin's boys that she will be able to drink the two of you lads under the table." He suggested to Fili and Kili and then looked over at Brynn once again. "If ya drink these two lads under the table I'll split half me winnin's with you."

"You got yourself a deal," Brynn said with a wide grin as she looked at the two younger dwarf's.

Bilbo was oh so confused, he had no idea who these three female dwarves were, all he had understood from the bits of conversation that he had listed to was that the youngest one and the older dark haired one were related to Dwalin and Balin in some sort of way. Or at least that's what he guessed from the way that they had embraced and spoke with each other.

"Excuse me," Bilbo said hesitantly, and a bit softly as he looked to the dark haired female who was standing in front of Dwalin. "I must ask, who are you? All of you?" he said as he looked over at the other two. "I was not expecting much of anyone tonight in my house? I was not expecting Gandalf, and I was definitely not expecting all of these dwarves." He said with a heavy sigh as he gestured to all of the dwarves and basically collapsed against one of the dining room walls.

Before any of the females were able to respond to Bilbo's tired sounding question it was Gandalf who answered the hobbit, "Bilbo my dear friend, these ladies are kin to our dwarves here." He said as he started to explain. "This is Drifa who is sister to Dwalin and Balin, and this is Drifa's daughter Brynnhilda who prefers Brynn and finally this is Agertha." He gestured towards the red headed dwarf woman. "Ladies, this is Bilbo Baggins who has been kind enough to open up his home to this meeting of ours."

"Hello Mr. Baggins," Drifa said politely and gave a small bow of her head towards him which he nervously gave a smile and bow back.

Finding out that she was Dwalin's sister scared Bilbo just a tad and he definitely did not wish to anger the rather fierce looking warrior dwarf by saying something wrong.

"While we are doing introductions I may as well finish them," Gandalf replied and then gestured to the dwarves who were seated around the table. "Over here we have Ori, Nori and Dori, and then Gloin and Oin; Fili and Kili – Thorin's nephews. Bombur, Bofur and their cousin Bifur. And then finally Thorin, who is the leader of this company. I am sure that you knew that thought, hadn't you." He ended, saying the last part to no one in particular.

"Can't believe that you two have a sister and didn't even tell me," Bofur stated as he looked over at Dwalin and Balin, before turning to Drifa and giving an exaggerated wink which made her laugh at him in amusement.

"You're a charmer aren't you?" Drifa asked rhetorically as she shook her head at the quirky dwarf with an odd hat atop his head.

As if he had suddenly realized how rude he was being Bilbo rushed to offer Drifa, Brynn and Agertha the last couple of available seats around his table – his mother would be turning in her grave at the thought of Bilbo being anything other than an attentive host.

"Please, sit." Bilbo urged as he gestured to the seats around the table. "My mother would be horrified by the fact that I have not offered you seats to sit, a lady shouldn't ever stand while a man sits."

Drifa took the seat that Dwalin offered to her which was right next to Balin who was seated nearest to Thorin, and then Agertha was seated on the opposite side of Drifa and furthest away from Thorin though she did have an urge to kick Oin out of his seat so she could sit beside Thorin once again, it's been so many long years since she had been able to set her eyes on him let alone be near him but she held her urge in and sat where the seat was made available to her.

It soon became obvious that there were no more seats free for Brynn to sit in, she tried to wave their offers off by saying that she would stand and that she really didn't mind but apparently they were not going to be taking that as an answer – one way or another she was going to be sitting at the table with the other dwarves.

"Here," Fili said suddenly as he pushed Nori unceremoniously to the ground and out of the seat that was between him and his brother. "Sit here." He said with a grand gesture of his hands.

Kili nodded in agreement, "Yes, Nori is more than willing to give his seat up," he stated and then looked up at the disgruntled looking dwarf who had just pushed himself back to his feet.

At that Nori opened his mouth a few times to say differently, but he looked at Brynn, to her two uncles and then to Thorin and the boys before giving a resigned sigh and sliding the chair out for Brynn to seat herself it. "Yes, sit down why don't you lassie." He said to her.

As Brynn made her way over to the seat that Nori graciously, or rather had been forced to offer up, Balin took a good look at his niece and was more than thankful to Mahal that she and Drifa had managed to survive that dreadful scene that he and his brother had found at his sister's home. The resemblance between Ragnivir and Brynn was uncanny; they had the same pale skin, the same colored hair, and so far from what he could tell they had a similar personality and there was just so much Ragnivir in her and the only discernable thing that screamed Drifa was the dark eyes and the wild curly hair. Looking at his young niece Balin could have sworn he was looking at the female warrior version of Ragnivir – it was a bit mindboggling.

"You understand that we are ecstatic to know you are alive Drifa," Balin started as he looked at his younger sister with wrinkled but happy eyes. "And Brynn as well," he said and then looked at Agertha. "And Aggie we are glad to know that you are well and fine, and not dead or living the life of a hermit."

At that Agertha gave the older dwarf a peculiar look, "Is that what you thought happened to me?" she questioned as she leaned back in her chair with grin.

Ignoring the question that Agertha had asked, Thorin jumped straight into asking what everyone was wondering…..or at least those who remembered the story about Drifa and her family, and about the sudden disappearance of Agertha.

"How is it that you all are alive?" Thorin asked in a straight forward fashion as he looked intently at Drifa, Agertha and Brynn, though focused more so on the older dwarf's. "How is that you Drifa are alive, and your daughter when we had seen the state of your home? And when we had seen the blood that coated the ground and walls?"

Dwalin nodded in agreement, "You spoke of Gandalf helping you in some way, that you are alive and well because of Gandalf for some reason. But what exactly do you mean by such a statement?" he questioned with genuine curiosity on his rough looking face.

While this little discussion was going on Bilbo had brought food and drink to the girls – Brynn had been more than excited when he offered her coffee, she had thought that coffee was only a drink of the modern world but was glad to find out different. It seemed that Bilbo was more than willing to give up a part of his stash of remaining bits of food to the female dwarves but would rather keep it to himself than offer it to the dwarves who had already destroyed most of his pantry.

"Drifa?" Dwalin asked in a soft concerned tone of voice, a voice that many of the other dwarves were unused to him using.

When she had been asked how she and Brynn lived, Drifa was unable to control all of the memories that suddenly invaded her mind and they were such terrible and painful memories that she could not speak for a few minutes. Years have passed but that did not mean that the pain eased up any.

"Dad died at the house," Brynn started suddenly from her seated position between Fili and Kili who were now paying full attention to her, along with the rest of the people who were in the dining room. "He was doing his damndest to protect me and Ma from the orc's that invaded our small home and even when it was obvious to him that he would not be able to fight five orcs on his own…..not without a miracle at least, but even so with such terrible odds dad screamed at Ma to take me and to leave for somewhere safe. To get out before it was too late." She said in a soft and subdued tone of voice, a difference to the determined and playful sort that she usually used.

Brynn knew that this was her mother's story to tell, that her mother had seen all of this first hand but Brynn knew that her mother wouldn't be able to get through this story fully without breaking down at least a few times, and more than likely cry a bit as well. Her mother made it seem like she was strong and could take on anything but the trick was that if she did not think of the terrible things in her life than she couldn't be affected by them.

"Of course Ma refused to leave dad," Brynn said with a small smile on her face as she took a sip of the coffee, it could use a bit more sugar but it tasted fine otherwise. "Dad never backed down from a threat or a challenge, and there was no way in hell that Ma was going to leave dad's side in a situation like that." She said and looked over at her mother whose eyes were closed at the moment. "They tried calling for help, they tried ot yell and scream as loud as they could, hoping that some passerbyer was travelling and would be able to help or something like that but there was no one and the closest people lived much too far away. Ma did what she could to help, but she had me to worry about, to make sure I stayed calm and to make sure the orcs didn't suddenly turn and try and kill me and her." she explained and took a deep, but shaky breath, she may have not seen these things or remember them as her mother did but they were still just as terrible to talk of and repeat to other's.

Kili who was sitting to the left of her was looking at Brynn and then looked over at her mother with sad eyes at how utterly bleak their situation must have been; a single warrior, his wife and infant daughter faced up against five orcs with no help for miles around. Brynn never even had the chance to meet her father, at least Kili had a couple lingering memories of his father but Fili had the most but Brynn, she had nothing to remember of her father by.

"The orcs killed dad right then and there," Brynn began again with a downcast expression on her face, saddened that she will never get the chance to know the man who was her father and who she heard was such a fierce warrior. "He didn't go without a fight; he took two orcs down with him while trying to protect us. Then it was just Ma against the remaining three and if you know anything about Ma it's that she can fight just as well as any other seasoned warrior." She said proudly as a wide smile spread across her face. Once she had finished them off, Ma packed up very few of our belongings and then left." She said and paused for a moment wondering if she should tell them of the attempted rape that had happened to her mother but from the angry looks of her uncle Dwalin and the worried look of Balin she decided against it, best to not let them get angry over something that they can't change.

Taking a deep breath after that pause Brynn continued on, "Travelling alone with me for a good long while Ma attempted to hunt out Gandalf who she heard about from some humans in a village that we stopped at – a wizard of exceedingly amazing powers, that can do everything under the sun." she said with a dramatic wave of her hands which made a few give a bit of a laugh. "She found him eventually, she pleaded with him to take us away, to get us away from Middle-earth and after a lot of arguing and yelling…..mostly on Ma's part. He finally agreed and Agertha," she spoke as she looked at the woman who was like an aunt to her. "She decided to invite herself along with us. We ended up living in a world that was so much more advanced and modern than here and cities that are larger than you can even imagine. There were no dwarves there, or wizards, hobbits, elves, orcs or anything like that just humans. But then, Gandalf came a few days ago and asked us to accompany him here, so here we are." She said with raised hands and then leaned back in her chair and ate the food that Bilbo had given to her.

The dwarf who was sitting across from Bofur, who Brynn could have sworn was called either Bifur or Bombur, looked at Bofur and then said something in Dwarvish and made a few hand gestures.

"Bifur says that he thinks that is impossible," Bofur translated for the rest of the group as he looked from the three women and then to Gandalf.

Without hesitation Drifa slapped her hands against the table and leveled Bifur with a beyond ferocious glare – yes this is where the family resemblance with Dwalin came in to play. "It is not impossible," she spoke as she looked at him intently. "Every word was true, Gandalf sent us away to a different world to live so that I could raise my daughter without having to fear something will try and attack us or worse, kill us." She told him. "I care not if you believe me, but in my heart I know it is true and it is what happened to us."

Dori studied the three women with a doubtful look, and then turned to Gandalf. "How?" he questioned unconvinced. "How is that possible? How were you able to do such a feat?"

In response to that Gandalf just gave Dori a pointed look, and a few of the other dwarves who were giving the wizard a skeptical look. "Did you all suddenly forget that I am a wizard?" he asked rhetorically. "With the help of my most trusted allies, I was able to send them away and then I did so again when I brought them back."

Dwalin looked at his sister in awe, of what she had gone through, of what she had to do in order to survive and keep Brynn alive, and of how she was still so strong after everything she has been through. He was proud to have Drifa as his sister.

"My sister," Balin said with a soft smile on his face and brought Drifa's hands up to him and kissed them gently, in thankfulness. "I am so very glad you and Brynn are alive and well, when we received news of your deaths…..it had affected many and life was not the same any longer." He said to them and then smiled over at his niece who was sitting between Thorin's two nephews whispering amongst themselves while still paying somewhat attention to what was being said around them. "I am glad to know that we were wrong all those years ago."

Thorin gave a subtle look in Agertha's direction and took a great, deep breath of air and could not believe that after so many years that the fiery woman was still able to strike a chord in him and bring out so many of his emotions at one time. He has tried hard to keep his emotions at bay; a king had no room to feel more than necessary. But no matter how much he tried, and even though he has only been in Agertha's presence for not even a half day it was already a trying time to not let his feelings for her explode once again.

"My dwarves, Gandalf," Thorin stated in an authoritative sounding voice that gained the attention of everyone one that was in the room. "Our fellow conspirator Bilbo, and my Ladies," he said as he nodded to each of the women who were not a part of the meeting that was being held. "It is now time for us to speak of why we are here, to speak of our quest that you have all willingly volunteered to accompany me on." He said and looked at each and every single dwarf that had come when he called for them. "It's time to take back our home, to thank our Kingdom back. To make Erebor what it once had been. I thank you all, for doing this grand of a task with me and I will forever be thankful to you all."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ _~_~_~_~Brynn ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

For a few minutes after Thorin started to speak of reclaiming Erebor, of taking their homeland and kingdom back Brynn had been surprised that he hadn't demanded that she, her mother and Agertha leave the room. Especially when you took into consideration that they weren't technically invited to this secret meeting, they had only showed up because of Gandalf's request. Not that Brynn was complaining, she was more than interested in hearing more about this quest…..this adventure, and she kinda had a small inkling of joining, she wanted to have an adventure just like anyone else would. Sure there was the chance of death, but really where's the excitement if there isn't a dash of threat of death.

"What news from the meeting at Ered Luin?" Balin asked as he clasped his hands together on top of the wooden table and looked at Thorin searchingly, hoping that he would have good news to share with them. "Did they all come?" he asked.

As Brynn was listening closely to what Thorin and the others were talking about she turned her gaze to the other dwarves who were seated around Bilbo's dining room table and studied them for a couple moments; they all seemed to be pretty friendly group of dwarves….well Bifur kind of intimidated her since he didn't really speak the common tongue and the fact that he had a piece of axe sticking out of his head and all. Oin seemed to be a bit intense and Dwalin as well but seeing as the later was her uncle Brynn didn't really count him.

When Brynn thought of a grand adventure, such as the one Thorin was talking about at the moment she definitely did not picture half of these guys – Ori, Bofur, Bombur and well Bilbo obviously, they didn't seem like the types to go on quests or be terribly skilled at fighting. Though, Brynn wouldn't doubt that Bombur would be able to squish an enemy if he chose so.

"The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo stated quietly after he had lit a few more candles in the room and looked at the map in fascination that was laying in front of Thorin, he couldn't help himself, he loved maps of all sort.

Brynn tore her eyes away from where she had been studying the dwarves that definitely gave the look of a rag tag group, and then looked towards the head of the table where Thorin and Gandalf were seated and listened closely to what was going on. She didn't want to miss anything, least of all something important.

"Aye," Gloin said with a nod to Bilbo's statement before he addressed the rest of the dwarves that were in the room. "Oin has read the portents and the portents say that it is time." He stated seriously and paused for a moment so that he could take a drink from his ale, courtesy of Bilbo's pantry. "Raven's have been seen flying back to this mountain as it was foretold. 'When the birds of yore return to Erebor the reign of the beast will end.'" He quoted from memory.

Bilbo furrowed his brow for a moment at the mention of beast, what exactly kind of beast were they talking of. "What beast?" he asked curiously and looked at the others expectantly.

Bofur grinned widely at Bilbo, "Well that would be in reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age." He stated bluntly and glanced around at the others for a moment before turning his attention back to Bilbo. "Airborne fire breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks." He stated. "And extremely fond of precious metals." He added as an afterthought and stuck his pipe back into his mouth and breathed the tobacco in deeply.

"Yes," Bilbo stated as he gave Bofur a dry look. "I know what a dragon is." He replied simply to the dwarf.

As this was happening Drifa looked from Thorin, to Gandalf, to Bilbo, and then to her brothers Balin and Dwalin, and finally the other dwarves and gave a heavy sigh bit stated silent to her opinion of this quest; she knew that this was an important quest for Thorin and all of the dwarves who were originally from Erebor. She understood their reasoning's for wanting to do this rather dangerous and possibly life threatening quest, Drifa had been there when Erebor had fallen prey to the dragon but even so, she thought that Thorin was putting his own life, his nephews lives and all of the other dwarves lives in danger needlessly when they had a comfortable home in the Blue Mountains.

If Smaug did still reside in Erebor then all efforts and attempts to reclaim what they assumed was an abandoned pile of gold will ultimately be in vain. Thirteen dwarves, a Hobbit and a Wizard against a dragon would not put up much of a fight whatsoever. They would barely even leave a dent in its scales.

Balin gave a heavy sigh and rubbed at his temples, "The task would have been difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just thirteen." He stated and then gave a glance around the table and gave a small, barely noticeable grimace. "And not thirteen of the best. Or the brightest." He said with a hint of disappointment.

With that one sentence it seemed as if there was a whole army in the house fighting with one and another rather than just a group of dwarves; the only ones who were not yelling and arguing were Thorin, Balin and Dwalin….well and the three females of course. Quite a few of the dwarves had taken offense to what Balin had said, though the elder warrior dwarf should take what he can get, it was better than having no dwarves at all.

"Balin!" Brynn said suddenly and stood up harshly from her seat making both Fili and Kili flinch in response not expecting that sudden movement. "uncle you should not put yourself nor any of the other dwarves down in such a way." She stated fiercely and placed her hands on her hips as everyone else suddenly stopped arguing when they heard her outburst. "You all are dwarves are you not?" she asked in a rhetoric fashion. "I have heard stories from my mother and from Aggie about dwarves that they are stubborn, fierce, determined and sure we can drink a bit too much at times and get a but loud but that is what makes us who we are. We are dwarves, and all dwarves have a stubbornness in them that makes them the sorts that are made out to go on quests and finish what they mean to and if that is defeating a dragon and taking back your kingdom then so be it." She said with passionate tone of voice that even captivated the attention of Thorin who was impressed with her finesse, she said what needed to be said without insulting any person. "Are you not those sorts of Dwarves? Are some of you not the Dwarves of Erebor that Aggie had told me of? That my father had been a part of?" she questioned doing all she could to raise their spirits. "If you are not perhaps I should head on the road and try and find those dwarves and tell them that it is time to retake Erebor." She said with a pointed look and slowly let out her breath and sat back down on her stood as calmly as she could after that passionate speech.

The moment that Brynn took on the look of determination Agertha knew, Agertha knew that Brynn was not going to sit back and let these dwarves leave….at least not without her tagging along. That was the same look that Brynn's father used to do when he wished to do something that he fiercely believed in or when he was retelling a story about an old battle and when he was trying to convince Drifa to do something. If Agertha knew Brynn well, which she definitely did, she was going to try and convince the dwarves to let her go along with them and she was not going to take no as an answer.

After Brynn's small speech there was nothing but silence for a couple moments before the other dwarves burst out in cheers to what she had said, agreeing with all that she had said of them and of dwarves.

"We may be few in number but we're fighters, all of us." Fili stated as he slammed his hands down on the table and looked everyone in the eye. "To the last dwarf." He said proudly before he slapped at the table a couple times and took a big drink from his tankard.

Kili grinned enthusiastically and was almost bouncing out of his seat as he looked to Gandalf, "You forget," he stated. "We have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." He said as he looked towards Gandalf with excitement.

Yes, Agertha thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her tangled red hair, it was definitely going to be a long night.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Authors Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

A/N: did you like it? I wanted more interaction with Kili, Fili and brynn but it just didnt work out that way i guess. next chapter hopefully. Tell me what you all think of this chapter.

Quote 1: "Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart."

― José N. Harris, MI VIDA: A Story of Faith, Hope and Love

"As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things, and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet. I will not be defeated. I won't let my spirit be destroyed."

― Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: as usual it is not mine, no matter how i wish it was

A/N: I finally got this chapter out, i've been trying for a while but i like sleep and i have a massively painful tooth that i just got some prescribed med's for. I swear my money goes to dentists way too much.

A/N2: School started so i have homework i have to do for my classes and the professors like it when you turn it in for some weird reason. Anywho, i appreciate all you reviewers out there, you all are amazing and i love rereading what you guys have said abut my story. Please, keep it coming

Chapter Nine

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Bilbo, Gandalf & the Dwarves: A While Later ~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"You Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf said as he looked seriously into the eyes of Thorin, who was looking less than pleased with Gandalf's choice of a burglar. "You had asked me to find the fourteenth member of this expedition and it is Mr. Baggins who I have chosen." He said and took on a sudden dark look. "Say I have chosen wrongly and you can have all of the bad luck in the world and go back to digging coal."

For a few moments Thorin just stared at Gandalf with an unreadable expression and thought on what Gandalf had said to him; for some peculiar and indiscernible reason the wizard has chosen this rather small and jumpy hobbit for the last member of his company…..as their burglar of all things. This Bilbo was the furthest thing from a burglar as a person could possibly be, Thorin did not think that Bilbo would be worth the trouble in the end but for now he would trust Gandalf's judgment that Bilbo Baggins had more to him than first appearances gave.

"Very well," Thorin stated with a reluctant sigh of resignation, it's not as if he had any choice at this point in time. "We will do it your way."

The moment those words left Thorin's mouth Bilbo started to shake his head adamantly and so fast that those near thought his head would snap clean off at the forcefulness of it.

Bilbo could not and would not do this; he would not join this quest that Gandalf had foolishly thought he would be more than willing to join, he was a Baggins of Bag End and Baggins' do not go on adventures of any sort. It was simply not heard of.

"No," Bilbo said as forcefully as he could as he looked at both Gandalf and Thorin, he refused to let himself be bullied into a life threatening quest. "No, no. no. no! I do not want to nor do I wish to join any sort of adventures like this. I am more than happy and comfortable to be in my Hobbit Hole. This is my home and I intend to stay here." He said as he stepped away from the company a bit, and just wishing all of the dwarves and Gandalf would disappear out of his home and stay away.

Ignoring Bilbo's show of dramatics Thorin looked towards Balin, "Give him a contract." He said flatly, still not all that happy about the hobbit joining them.

Hearing that Bofur gave an excited smile, "We're in, we're off." He said eagerly and looked around the table at the others, he was more than ready to set off on this quest and earn himself a bit of gold while he was at it.

Balin reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a contract, "It's the usual." He said. "A summary of out of pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements. So forth," he explained as he reached out with the contract which Thorin grabbed and handed off to Bilbo with a harsh hand against the chest which made the hobbit give a slight stumble.

While Gandalf and Thorin had a quick conversation in hushed tones Bilbo looked over the contract that he was just given and ever so slowly his eyes started to widen more and more after each single sentence of the contract that he read. He couldn't believe what was written in here, and what was expected of him and what….what could happen to him. He could most definitely end up dying on this quest if he was mad enough to agree to go with.

Bilbo was pacing in the hallway just in front of the dwarves and Gandalf, and quite a few of the dwarves were watching him with interest, wondering what he was going to do or say. "Evisceration…incineration." He said incredulously as he looked towards the dwarves.

"Aye," Bofur said with a nod of his head. "He'll melt the flesh off your bones in a blink of an eye." He said as he looked towards the Hobbit.

When Bofur said those words Drifa couldn't help but shake her head unbelievably, if they were trying t convince Bilbo to go along with the company on this quest to Erebor they were going abouot it the wrong way. Bilbo didn't want anything to do with this quest, that much was obvious, so telling him of how he could be turned to ash by Smaug was not something they should have put out there – not until they were too far away for him to turn back at least. Bilbo wasn't the sort who would be thrilled at the thought of going face to face with a dragon which carried the possibility of getting his flesh melted from his body.

"I have no doubt that this will not end in their favor," Drifa said in a whispered tone to Agertha, as she looked around at all of the dwarves and then to Bilbo who seemed to be growing paler and paler as the minutes passed by. "Bilbo does not seem to have the stomach for this sort of talk let alone to go along with them on this death wish of an adventure."

At that Agertha looked towards Bilbo who was mumbling to himself and looking at the contract with wide eyes, "No, Drifa I do not think he is made out for this sort of thing. Hobbit's like their homes and like being home; rarely do they enjoy leaving the comforts of Hobbiton." She said with a wry look on her face. "He will not join."

Drifa hoped that once Thorin and his band of dwarves had finished with their meeting, and the next day came that she, Agertha and Brynn could say their good bye's and make their way to the Blue Mountains. In her heart Drifa could feel that returning to the last place she had felt happy that she would be able to heal from all that ailed her mind and spirit, she hoped that Dis – Fili and Kili's mother still resided there. Dis was nothing but determined, and Drifa knew that once Dis found out about Drifa's pain that she would do everything in her power to help her overcome it and to finally be at peace with all that happened.

"Think he'll go?" Brynn asked as she was leaning on her elbows that were on the wooden table and looked at Bilbo who was still reading the contract and then over at Fili and Kili with a curious look on her face.

Kili was more than willing to nod his head, "Once he gets over the possibility of death he will agree, I am sure. Gandalf would not pick someone who would back out." He said confidently.

At that Brynn gave him a doubtful look, "He's a hobbit, hobbits like their homes or at least from what I've heard they do. And he's not exactly the adventurous looking type." She replied as she cocked her head in his direction with a small upturn of her lips.

"Ahh but it doesn't mean that he doesn't have a sense of adventure hidden in there." Kili pointed out to her.

Fili looked at his brother and Brynn before towards the hobbit, "I do not think he will join us, he's fighting this too much." He said simply and took a drink of his ale.

"I….I…I need air," Bilbo stated in a panic stricken voice and started to breath in heavily and harshly, as if he was having problems getting enough air into his lungs and sounding much like a pregnant woman did while in labor.

Bofur leaned forward on the table and looked at Bilbo, "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof," he said with a gesture of his hand. "Your nothin' more than a pile of ash." He said simply as he leaned back in his chair.

All Bilbo did was take a deep breath and let it out in a groan, "Hmm, nope." He stated with a shake of his head and then without even a warning he fell to the ground.

"Oh very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said with a shake of his head and went to go and help Bilbo and get him settled down, at the moment he seemed to be quite out of sorts.

While Gandalf had gone off to talk to Bilbo in his living room which was down the hallway a bit with a nice small fireplace, a few of the other dwarves vacated the dining room and meandered around Bilbo's place to stretch their legs and to get out of the rather crowed room. Many were disappointed that Bilbo had been so against going with them, to being their burglar and helping them take Erebor back; they needed a fourteenth member for this quest to go smoothly. They did not need the bad luck that came without having one more member.

Brynn looked over at Thorin who she noticed was sitting alone and not speaking to anyone that was near him, now was her time to go up to him and ask him. Brynn wanted to join in this adventure, she wanted to do something good for her people and do something with herself which she's never had the chance to do in the other world. Though she wasn't about to take no as an answer, if she had to follow behind them like some sort of stalker she would but she'd prefer asking politely.

"Hello," Brynn said softly and somewhat nervously as she sat herself down beside Thorin in the seat that Gandalf had previously occupied.

Thorin looked over at the girl who had just sat beside him and didn't say anything for a couple moment and just took her in, earlier when Gandalf introduced everyone he only did a quick glance at her but now that he had time to study her it was obvious that she was Ragnivir's child. This girl Brynn seemed to look very similar to his old friend, the only thing that she seemed to have gotten from her mother is her d ark eyes and wild curly hair.

"You look quite a lot like your father," Thorin said to her as he looked over at Agertha and Drifa who were talking amongst themselves, he didn't wish to bring up any painful memories for Drifa if she overheard him talking about Ragnivir with her daughter.

At that Brynn gave a small laugh and nodded, "I know," she said to him and wished that she could just see one picture of him so that she could know exactly how much she looked like him. "I've heard that more in the last couple of days than I have in my whole life."

Brynn wanted to ask Thorin her question, she really did but she was unsure how to go about it and how to do so in a way that would not anger him or make him say no to her immediately. She was a bit freaked out seeing as this was Thorin Oakenshield she was talking to, exiled King of Erebor. And not to mention this was the first time that she's been around so many of her kind at once and didn't want to say anything that would offend them, though so far she's done pretty good and none of them seemed to have been insulted by anything that she's said.

"You have something on your mind," Thorin stated simply as he looked at Brynn with a raised brow and gave her an expectant look.

"And what makes you say that?" Brynn asked with a semi-playful look on her face that unknowingly reminded Thorin of Ragnivir when they had been training as warriors when they were younger.

At that Thorin gave her a pointed look and then glanced over at his nephews, "Fili and Kili were more than mischievous when they were nothing but boys and enjoyed playing tricks on any and all people. I've learned to become observant of my surroundings and those who are within it." He said as he looked into her eyes intently. "I was also a warrior and a warrior must-"

"Always be vigilant," Brynn interrupted with a soft smile on her face and looked at Thorin's impressed expression at the fact that she knew that phrase; it was something his father had always said to the other warriors. "Agertha and my mother had taught me that when they trained me how to fight. Basically ingrained it into my brain."

"A good skill to know," Thorin said with an approving nod of his head. "Speak. What is on your mind?" he asked firmly but not in a harsh fashion, it's been a long day and he was in no mood to beat around the bush about whatever it was that Brynn wished to say to him.

Taking a deep breath Brynn hesitantly looked towards her mother who shot her a small smile before going back to talking with Agertha and Balin about the old days or something like that. Hopefully her mother was distracted enough with her conversation that she wouldn't be able to hear what Brynn was asking of Thorin.

Turning back towards Thorin Brynn looked into his face, "I want to go with you guys," she said with a no nonsense look on her face. "I want to join you, and all of these other dwarves and go on this quest."

"No," Thorin responded immediately, without even a moment's hesitation.

Already Thorin would have to deal with his beyond angry sister who would inflict some sort of pain upon him for dragging his two nephews along on this quest, and he did not need Drifa as well. Beside Brynn has barely been in Middle-Earth all that long, and from the looks of it was not used to travelling long distances and traveling with a group of men for who knows how long was not an appropriate place for a woman such as Brynn, a young woman.

Brynn gave him an offended and challenging look at that, "Why not?" she asked quietly but strongly. "I am more than capable of defending myself so it's not as if you will have to be worrying about me the whole time, not knowing if something would attack me and needing to save me or something like that." She pointed out to which Thorin was about to say that he did not know that for sure but Brynn continued before he was able. "If you really want me to I can prove it, I can spar against Aggie or whoever you ask me to if it will prove that I am able." She said fiercely to him, with determination in her eyes. "I'm strong."

Thorin looked at Brynn for a moment before he shook his head, "I appreciate your determination and willingness to go with us, and too few answered my call when I asked for their aide." He admitted with a disappointed look on his face. "But this quest has no place for someone such as you?"

"Someone such as me?" Brynn asked, repeating what he said and sent him an icy glare and crossed her arms under her chest in an angry fashion. "I am not the kind of woman who sits in a kitchen all day, and sews in her free time and lets the men take care of everything. I am nowhere being a meek and weak minded female. I will not accept the answer of me not being able to go with just because I am of the female gender." She said to him fiercely as she looked into his face and damn near growled at the man for those sexist statements, she knew that he and Aggie used to spar together so this will not be any different she won't let it be. "I may be a woman but I can fight, Aggie taught me and so did my mother both of whom can fight damn well if I do say so myself. They can be just as ferocious as any male dwarf." She said to him and remembered all of the training that she had to do with Agertha and her mother; they refused to let her be a weak girl just because they were living in a world that was relatively safe. "If you can allow Bilbo to go with you, then you can damn well let me go along with as well. I can at least bring something to the table, I can fight unlike him." She finished.

Thorin looked a bit shocked at the fact that Brynn had the gall and the brazen attitude to talk to him in such a way, pointing out what she thought about him not wanting her to coming along because she was a woman. Brynn wanted to go with to Erebor and help them retake it and Thorin should feel grateful that she felt for their plight and their quest but he did not know if he could allow her to go with. He was angered at the fact that she had spoken to him in such a way, with such blatant disregard of who he was exactly but he also appreciated it. It showed that Brynn wasn't afraid of confrontation or standing up for what she believed in no matter who that person was. Ragnivir would have been laughing until his sides hurt if he could see the fact that his daughter was telling Thorin, and he would be proud of his daughter.

Whilst the conversation between Thorin and Brynn was going on, Agertha had been watching from her peripheral without letting Drifa realize. Agertha knew exactly what Brynn was doing and asking Thorin, and one thing was for sure was that when Drifa realized she was going to be beyond angry at Brynn for this.

"I do not think it wise for you to come with," Thorin finally said after he mulled over what Brynn had pointed out to him. "I do not think your mother would appreciate me agreeing to letting you join my quest." He said as he glanced over at Drifa with a frown before turning back to look at the said woman's daughter who had a fiercely determined look on her face.

Hearing that Brynn couldn't help but roll her eyes, here was Thorin who supposedly is a fierce warrior who had trained alongside her father, and both her uncles yet the thought of pissing of her mother made him hesitate and scared him. Some brave and fearless king he was.

Shaking her head Brynn answered Thorin, "Well sometimes we have to deal with things in life that we don't like, and this is one thing my mother will have to accept." She said giving a flippant shrug, she cared for her mother but it was high time that she stopped treating Brynn like a young child who has never stepped out of the house on her own, it was not fair and Brynn was more than old enough to be treated better than that…..it was time for Brynn to have the opportunity of going on her own adventure. "I am not an infant, nor am I a dwarfling who needs constant protection and who needs to be told what to do, what to say and what to think at all times. I am almost seventy-four years old Thorin, I can fight and protect myself. I will not be a hindrance, I promise you that." She told him passionately before taking a deep, calming breath and going on. "I am in control of my own fate. My mother will always be my mother, nothing will change that but she cannot tell me what I can and can't do any longer; for so many years now she's told me that I can't go off and see the world without her or Agertha with me. Something may happen, I may be hurt, killed or some other unmentionable reason and trust me, the world we were living could be dangerous at times but nearly to the extent of what she made it seem." She said and shook her head at some of the times her mother had been a bit dramatic when Brynn had left both her and Agertha's sight for more than a few days. "I know how to wield my sword, I'm…..okay at bow and arrow not that I have one to use though, and I can do decent hand to hand combat if need be. Please Thorin, please."

Thorin shut his eyes tightly and rubbed at his temples, he could feel a head ache coming on and it was not going to be a pleasant one either, it was obvious to see that Brynn definitely had more dwarf in her than she did human just like her mother and father had been. "I cannot and will not lie to you and promise that you will make it through this quest and see the end of it, that you will live to see your mother again. There will be dangers while on this quest, you may run into terrible creatures that you've never before seen in that other world that you once lived in, you may end up getting injured while protecting yourself from these beings and there is the possibility of death." He spoke and looked into her dark eyes with a seriousness that would catch anyone's attention.

"I know," Brynn said with an even tone of voice and gave a wry half grin. "When Bilbo was reading the contract I did not just act as if I was listening, I heard every word." She pointed out to him. "I know what this adventure entails and what kind of danger I will be in, and what will happen if I end up getting in the path of a dragon." She said with a small grimace. "I will be afraid at least a few times on this thing but that's to be expected, but even with the fear I feel I still believe that this quest is worth it." She told him with a nod and looked back at her mother for a moment, she looked happy talking with Balin, Dwalin and Agertha about the old days when Erebor was still a grand kingdom.

"Erebor," Brynn spoke barely above a whisper. "Erebor was the last place that my mother said she could ever recall a happy memory, after dad died none of the memories were happy any longer because she couldn't have him beside her anymore. When she drank too much Ma told me that she did truly love the home that dad and she shared but those memories hurt too much to think of and so the last joyful memories she had with dad were at Erebor. I want to bring that back, I know I cannot bring the dead back, so the closest I can get is helping returning Erebor to its former glory."

Unable to help himself Thorin gave a half smile at the girl who was speaking so passionately about going with his company, "You are quite the determined dwarf maiden aren't you?" he asked her rhetorically to which Brynn just gave him an innocent smile. "I will not be able to sway you, will I?"

Brynn grinned widely at that and shook her head, "From what I've heard both my parents were incredibly stubborn, I have firsthand experience with my mother but since my father is…..no longer with us I will just have to believe what other's tell me." She said which made Thorin give a frown at the thought that Brynn never got to have one memory of her father; at least his nephews had that.

"You must have been a handful as a child," Thorin said simply to her, he could already tell that Brynn was going to test him at points where he had wished he did not agree to bring her along and like Ragnivir had done to him, Thorin would grow to appreciate her for her stubbornness, determination and odd quirks.

"More than you realize," Brynn told him with a small giggle and brushed her hair back and out of her way, it fell out of her pony tail hours ago. "Even if you do tell me no I'm just going to end up following you guys until you let me join you, I'm not afraid of waiting you out. Though not so sure my uncles would be too fond of that, I mean they did just get reunited with me and want to be sure I am safe and whatnot." She pointed out and then gave him an expectant look, waiting for his answer.

Thorin shook his head in amusement at Brynn, he would give it to her that she knew how to get what she wanted. "All right, you can come on our quest." He said but ended up saying it a bit too loudly because the moment those words left his mouth Drifa suddenly turned her head sharply to look at the two.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Drifa ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

When Bilbo had his small panic attack and all but fainted in front of all of the dwarves and had been taken into another room by Gandalf to try and calm him down, Drifa and Agertha had sat with Balin and Dwalin and talked about the old days – years and years ago when they all had been much younger, and much more agile. Balin had been reminiscing about Drifa when she was a dwarfling and had come to the training fields and had made flower crowns for many of the soldier's and any who refused or said that was stupid of her to do would have to deal with Dwalin, many had learned quickly to just accept the flower crowns from the little girl and wear them until she had left. They were fond memories.

Balin was telling Agertha and Drifa about what Dis has been up to over the years, about the death of her husband and how the Blue Mountain's were fairing when Drifa had heard Thorin tell Brynn that she could go along with him and the rest of the dwarves on their quest; a quest that was basically a death wish for all whom were involved. And there was no way that Drifa was about to let her daughter go on such a quest, she would not allow her only child to go on a dangerous and reckless quest that could possibly lead to her own as well as all of the other's deaths just because of Thorin wanting to take their homeland back. As much as she understood the need it didn't mean that he needed to bring Brynn into this sort of danger.

"Brynnhilda!" Drifa all bit yelled as loud as she could as she harshly stood up from her chair and looked at her daughter with a furious look on her face, and shifted between sending that fierce look to Thorin and her daughter, she was unsure who she was more angry at. "You will not go on this quest." She spoke in a deadly tone of voice. "And you Thorin should not have agreed to such a request."

At that Brynn took a deep breath and gave her mother a wary look, it was never a smart idea to argue with Drifa, anyone with a half a brain knew that and Brynn as her daughter especially knew that but Brynn was also one of the few people who weren't afraid of standing up to her mother and arguing with her. As much as Brynn hated arguing with her mother, it needed to be done and she needed to get her to understand that Brynn was no longer a child.

"Yes I am Ma," Brynn told her as she let out a deep breath she was holding, hoping that she wouldn't be smote by her own mother and before Thorin was able to respond to her mother. "I'm sorry but I am going with them." She said simply as she shifted nervously in her seat a bit and looked up at her mother who had made her way over to Brynn as she spoke.

The second that Drifa had yelled Brynn's name, almost everyone within the Hobbit Hole had stopped what they were doing be it drinking some more, talking amongst themselves or smoking some of their pipe, and instead watched what was going on between mother and daughter.

Drifa has tried to be a strong woman over the years and yes she has failed quite a bit at that but this was one thing she would not back down for. Drifa treasured her daughter too much to just allow her to leave on a quest that was just as deadly as any dragon, if she could Drifa would be throttling Thorin right now for agreeing to such blasphemy.

"Come with me daughter."

The moment that Drifa told Brynn to come with her the whole room held their breath, unsure of what was going to happen with the two females. Was Drifa going to slap reason into Brynn, were they going to argue, fight it out, will it come to blows….what exactly was gin got happen? One thing was for sure and that was that none of the dwarves were about to get in the middle of a mother/daughter argument…..none would survive that if they tried to interfere.

"Come here Brynn," Drifa said in a hard tone of voice and led her daughter only a few feet from where Bilbo's dining room was situated, and where a good portion of the dwarves still remained.

As much as a few of the dwarves wanted to step in and stop this before it even started, they all knew better than that and knew it would be best for all involved to let this happen and then Drifa and Brynn could get it out of their system.

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Brynn & Drifa ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"What are you thinking Brynn? Are you even thinking?" Drifa asked her only child, the only thing that she had left of her husband and gave the girl and incredulous look for willingly wanting to go on a life threatening quest for a Kingdom that they may not even be able to retake. "Is your mind gone child? Or have you gone mad? Because those are the only reasons that I can come up with for you wanting to go on a quest such as this." She stated and shook her head at Brynn, the girl seemed to have no sense of self-preservation if she wanted to go on this….this adventure, she was just like her father in that way. "You do realize that you could die on this quest, that you could go and intend on coming back alive and thinking that you are perfectly able to handle yourself but in the end you will end up getting yourself killed. Have the stories that I have told you of over the years taught you nothing Brynnhilda? Have you not paid attention to all that I've told you of?" she asked with a frustrated wave of her hands and violently shook her head at her daughter. "What reason do you have for going? Tell me, what good reason do you have for going on this quest?"

Just feet away in the dining room the other dwarves were listening in to the argument with rapt interest, sure they knew that they shouldn't have been listening into what was being said but they couldn't help it. Besides, it wasn't like Drifa and Brynn really moved all that far away from the dining room; if they wanted privacy they should have moved further away.

Brynn gave her mother an unbelieving look for the last comment and gave a scoff, she was sick and tired of her mother thinking of her as a three year old rather than the adult dwarf she was. "Why do I want to go on this quest? Why?" she asked her with an angry sneer. "For one these people, these people who we are a part of, who are our people deserve to have their home back. They deserve to have their kingdom back, a kingdom that was taken by a damn dragon." She spoke as she pointed towards the dwarves, who all reeled back a moment, thinking that they were going to be spotted but neither Brynn nor Drifa really cared about them being there at the moment. "This quest is more than worthy. They are going on a quest to retake Erebor back as their own, the place that had once been your home mother and Agertha's home and….dad's home." She said and looked at her mother in disappointment, she had hoped she would be semi-understanding but just from the look on her face it was obvious that she would not be.

"I understand it's a worthy quest, and I miss the home I had there," Drifa said as she looked into her daughter's dark eyes. "But just because it is a worthy quest does not mean that you need to be a part of it. I will not let you needlessly endanger your life, they can throw their life away in any which way they choose but I will not let you die. Not like this." She told her as she grasped onto Brynn's hands trying to convey her worry, fear and uncertainty.

At that Brynn pried her hands away from her mother's, "These people's lives are worth it Ma, and if they do die on this then they have died trying to do something honorable." She stated in a serious tone. "They dropped everything just to join a quest and to take Erebor back. Erebor is their home, a home they have yearned to see for so many years and they've decided to do the right thing and help reclaim it." She said and leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. "I want to go because it is the right thing to do, because I want to do something amazing with my life because my uncles are going," she said as she gestured towards Dwalin and Balin. "And I want to go so I can have a true home…..a home that actually feels like a home."

Unable to control herself Drifa lashed out at Brynn, "You know nothing of what you speak. The world is not a nice place, not here it isn't. You must always fear what may be around the corner, lurking and waiting to attack you." She said to her harshly. "You have barely been here all that long, and already you are jumping into something so incredibly dangerous. I thought you were smarter than that." She said with a cross look on her face.

Drifa knew that was not entirely true, when they had left for the other world she had hoped it would be completely safe for her daughter to grow up in but that was a lie that they soon found out. Here were dangers in the otherworld, maybe not nearly as dangerous as Middle-Earth but still just as frightening. Brynn knew that there were dangers in the world; she's seen some dangers first had in the other world and ones that Drifa had hoped Brynn would never experience.

When her mother said that Brynn felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest, never has her mother said something like that to her in such a callous way nor insinuated that she was stupid. "I will admit I don't know much of this world but I do know that there are dangers out there, I've seen danger in the other world – the supposed safer world." She said sarcastically. "There may not be scary monsters in the other world but some of the people in that world were just as despicable, if not right up there with the monsters with some of the things that they've done. People attack other people for the money in their pocket, they killed innocent children and teenagers for no good reason, they've murdered and raped women because they decided that they could do it and even mocked people just because they didn't believe in how they lived their life. So don't go telling me that I don't know anything of the world or of the dangerous things that are in it."

Hearing the things that could have happened to the girls in the other world, a good portion of the Dwarves suddenly got very tense and angry. Sure, there were bad things and bad people in Middle-Earth but the majority of the people were honorable and genuinely cared about all people and wouldn't even think of doing….doing those things that Brynn had said.

Dwalin hearing what could have happened to his sister and niece clenched his fist that was holding onto his tankard of ale, and he could feel the wood bending from the strength of it, he was so angry at what could have happened.

"You are nothing but a child!" Drifa yelled fiercely at her daughter in unabridged anger, she wasn't able to take this back and forth arguing that they were doing any longer, she needed to be straight to the point and say something that will make her daughter realize going on this adventure would not be worthwhile. "You don't know what sort of things you will be seeing out there, or the danger that you will be putting yourself in." she said as she looking into her daughters eyes searchingly, hoping that there's be some sense of reasoning coming through in her daughter's eyes.

While Drifa had been travelling with just her daughter after Ragnivir had passed, she was forced to cross dangerous lands….the badlands, so to say, of Middle-Earth that only the bravest of all people dared to cross into. She had to cross them at the time, she needed to find Gandalf as fast as possible and in her mind at the time – a distraught and emotional mind – the only way to find him as soon as possible was to cross into, and take a shortcut through the dangerous territory. Doing so had resulted in Drifa meeting up with some horrendous creatures and there had been a few close calls (one of them being the almost rape that happened to her). It was not what she wished for her daughter to experience, and Drifa knew that if Brynn went along with Thorin and his company of dwarves that she would end up encountering some such creatures as those that she had told her stories of. Drifa wanted Brynn to come with her and Agertha to the Blue Mountain's.

Brynn looked at her mother in frustration and anger, "And you are a scared old woman who's afraid of her own shadow, an old woman who can't come to terms with the past and deal with your pain properly. As you should have done more than seventy years ago!" she screamed back at her mother just as fiercely.

While Brynn and Agertha's argument was escalating the eyes of the many dwarves that were watching this unfold were looking on with wide eyes as each angry word was spouted out of the female's mouths, a few even thought that the argument would come to hit's with how loud they were getting and how furious both females look at one and another at the moment. Balin could barely believe that his niece was bold enough to face off with an angry Drifa; he's seen her angry (the adolescent years had been the worst) and had never enjoyed being on the receiving end of her anger, but right now was the angriest that he has ever seen his sister before in his life. He chalked that up to the fact that the whole argument had to do with Brynn going on this quest.

"Has any ever dared to speak to Drifa like this before?" Thorin asked quietly and carefully so to not draw either of the girls attention to him, he did not wish to have their anger directed onto him it was already tense enough with them arguing with one and another.

Dwalin pulled his gaze away from his sister and niece for a moment and looked towards Thorin and subtly shook his head, "No. The only ones who have are your sister and Aggie." He said in a surprised tone at how daring his niece Brynn was being at the moment, and then turned his attention back to his arguing family.

When Agertha had heard Drifa call Brynn a child she couldn't help but give a disappointed shake of her head at how her friend was reacting at the moment, she wondered so badly where she had gone wrong over the years. She tried so hard to help Drifa, so hard but Drifa somehow made her believe that she was better and it was only recently that Agertha realized that her friend had put on a façade so to not have to talk of what happened anymore. To talk about Middle-Earth or Ragnivir. All Agertha wished for was to have her friend back, even if it's just as liver of what she used to be, she would take it. She missed the happiness and positive outlook that Drifa always used to have about everything around her.

"I love your independence Brynn, so much," Drifa said in a rather soft tone, compared to harsh and angry words that she's been using. "I have always allowed you to be independent in all things in your life but-"

Before Drifa was able to finish that sentence Brynn scoffed loudly and pushed herself away from the wall and towards her mother, "You've never let me truly be independent in all things, mother," she said to her with narrowed eyes. "You let me believe I was being independent but I wasn't, if there was something I wanted to do and you didn't like you suggested me into not doing it without me realizing it, not until it was too late." She said and stood toe to toe with her mother and looked into her familiar eyes. "I wanted to see the world, the world that we were living in since I couldn't see my birth world yet you wouldn't let me. You feared the dangers there, of something happening to me." She said with a heavy sigh and shook her head. "You left this world for the modern one to protect me but you are just afraid of the things that were in that world as this one. You can't have it both ways. I NEED to be able to be the adult I am Ma, I'm not a child I'm almost seventy-four years old and you've never treated me older than a fifty year old."

At that Drifa had no words, she knew that she coddled her daughter at times but she never realized the extent of it, she regrets making her daughter feel like she's still a child but she still refused to let her go on this reckless quest. "I am sorry for doing that Brynn, I am so sorry for making you feel as such but I am still your mother, and I will not allow you to go on this quest." She said firmly, refusing to change her thoughts on the matter at hand.

Just down the hallway from where Drifa and Brynn were arguing were a few more of the dwarves; Bofur, Nori, Gloin and Bifur who were poking their heads out and around the corner and watching the conflict curiously. All wondering how this was going to go, and wanting to know if Brynn would end up going with them. They were surprised to hear what the argument was about and in fact were surprised to realize that this young dwarf maiden wanted to go along with them to Erebor.

"You have no control over me Ma, I am not a child, I am not a baby and you need to stop treating me like one, by Mahal that's all you've ever treated me like and you've seemed to refuse to acknowledge that I am an adult." Brynn said as she stepped back a few steps from her mother and clenched and unclenched her fists a few times from the anger she was feeling, she would love to just be destructive to something at the moment. "I am your child, but I am no longer the child that you can control and tell what to do whenever the whim comes to you. Let me experience the world, let me make mistakes I am strong and I can take it. Trust me." Brynn said and caught eyes with Bofur, who looked at her as if he was a child caught stealing a cookie. "Going on this quest is what I deem worthy of my time and skills and you are going to have to accept that."

Drifa almost shook her head desperately at her daughter, not wanting what was happening to be happening. "No, no, no. You will not go! You will not go to Erebor! I will not let you die that way." She said angrily and kicked at the ground ending up sending a stack of books flying towards the dwarves at the end of the hallway.

"You can't stop me!" Brynn yelled at her and put her hands on her hips in a challenging fashion.

"I am your mother!" Drifa replied back to her.

When Drifa had said that Brynn screamed in anger and grasped at her hair, "I will be going no matter what you say Ma, you can tell me not to go and you can attempt to stop me from going but I will go one way or another." She said to her with a determined look on her face, eyes blazing with fury. "I will join Dwalin and Balin, I will join Thorin and everyone else who are willingly going with and I will help take Erebor back!" she said passionately as angry tears started to stream down her face, which she wiped with the sleeve of the sweater she was wearing. "These are our people Ma, I don't know why you've forgotten that fact over the years but they are. I'm doing this so I can know more about where I was born, more about my own people and culture which you've failed to do because of the memories it brought and so I'm doing this for my own selfish reasons mother." She finished with a huff as she paced in front of her mother for a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Brynn did her best to calm herself and not lash out unneeded at her mother, she has done a lot for her over the years after all and she loved her, she didn't want to hurt her. "You always wanted me to be strong, to be brave and face my fears head on, and to be independent and I have done my best to try and do that but I can't do that with you constantly beside me and telling me that I shouldn't do this or that because it may be dangerous or I might get hurt." She told her and looked at her mother with a pleading gaze. "I love you so much Ma, you are so strong to still be here after all that you've been through but you're holding me back." She stated simply. "Let me live my life, and let me make mistakes, it's a part of life. You can't wrap me in bubble wrap and expect for me to be protected from everything." She said and pursed her lips for a moment before looking into her mother's eyes intensely. "I will be going."

Unable to control herself Drifa stalked up to her daughter who was barely all that much taller than her and grasped her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes with desperation, trying to convey the fear and agony that she felt over the thought of her daughter leaving and going on a dangerous adventure. "I will not bury you, I will not bury my only child." She stated trying to sound strong but only ended up sounding like a broken women.

"You won't have to; I won't die on this quest." Brynn said to her mother with confidence in herself and her skills, she knew it would be dangerous and that she had a possibility of losing her life but she would not disappoint her mother, she would come back alive. "I will come back to you."

Drifa gave a sad smile when that was spoken, "You do not know that for certain Brynn," she said softly and cupped her daughter's cheek for but a moment, cherishing being able to feel her soft face one more time and stepped away from her. "Do as you wish Brynnhilda, it is obvious I cannot convince you otherwise."

Hearing the pain and suffering in her mother's voice Brynn gave her mother an apologetic look, "Ma I-" she started and attempted to lay a hand on her mother's shoulder but she just shrugged it away and walked off without another word.

Drifa knew she was acting a tad bit childish, walking off without saying anything to anyone but she needed to get away from everyone that was packed into the immediate vicinity, she needed time to calm herself down and to just be by herself for a little while.

"Well then," Agertha said as she looked over at Brynn who was still staring after where her mother had stalked off down. "That went much better than expected, at least she didn't swear at you or threaten your life." she said which drew a dry laugh from Brynn.

Brynn gave a heavy sigh and plopped herself down in a chair beside Balin and gave a rather loud and hopeless filled groan, "She was probably thinking it." She stated and crossed her arms on the table and laid her head on top of them and closed her eyes, wishing that she could just be swallowed up; she hated it when her mother was angry at her.

"Don't fret too much Brynn," Kili said as he looked at Brynn and attempted to get that gloomy look off of her face. "Your mother will come around soon, by tomorrow in fact I bet." He said to her with a small hint of a smile.

Fili nodded his agreement, "She's your mother and it's impossible for them to be angry at you forever," he told her. "Mother's just need a bit of time alone to process everything and come to terms that their children are growing up. Trust me," he said with a smirk on his face. "Our mother did the same thing when we went out on our own for the first time."

Brynn looked at him but shrugged, "Maybe," she said with an unconvinced look and buried her face in her folded arms on the table, she really wanted a drink and one that was stronger than ale but didn't want to bust out her good stuff for something like this, she'd prefer to do it for a celebration or something like that, not because she and her mother had an argument.

"Come on Brynn," Balin said as he gently and awkwardly rubbed is nieces back supportively, he hasn't done something like this in years – not since Drifa was a child – but he still sort of remembered how to do it. "Do not worry so much, your mother will come around she cannot stay angry at you forever. She loves you and cares. It was obvious to see while the two of you were arguing."

"You do know that my mother is stubborn right?" Brynn asked with a sideways glance at Balin. "She can hold a grudge for a long ass time if she wants to." She pointed out to him with a raised brow.

Dwalin shook his head at his nice, "Come on lassie, keep ya chin up." He said as he lifted her head up and off of her arms. "If she was angry and arguin' with you it's because she loves you and cares about what may happen to you." He told her wisely and in a gentle tone. "She's seen much, all of us older dwarves have and she just doesn't want you to get yourself hurt or killed while on this quest. It's a parent thing." He told her and looked at his niece in concern, he had mixed feelings about Brynn going with them and traveling all across the land but unlike his sister he knew that it was ultimately Brynn's decision and no one else's.

Thorin looked at Brynn and the expression that she had on her face and he gave a small inaudible sigh, he did tell her that her mother would not wish for her to come but even so he did feel a bit guilty for agree with her and allowing her to go with them on their quest. He also felt guilty when he asked his nephews to come, his sister Dis will not be happy when she sees him and Fili and Kili again. There is no doubt in Thorin's mind that when Dis see's him again that she will give him a piece of her mind and make sure that he regrets ever being born. But what is done is done, and Brynn had said that she is not a child any longer and could make her own choices.

"Come," Thorin stated as he stood up. "It is time for song," he replied and walked out of the dining room and towards where the living room of the home was located at.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_The Dwarves _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Brynn hadn't exactly been in the mood to listen to singing when Thorin had made that statement; in fact she would have rather just laid down and thought about nothing at all, maybe clear her mind so to say. But Balin hadn't given her a choice; he told her that this was something that she would not want to miss. So with reluctance Brynn got out of her chair and followed after the other's to the living room and settled herself near the opening of the living room and listen in wonder as the dwarves started to sing – they attempted to fit everyone inside the living room but there were so many dwarves and the living room was made for Hobbit's.

_Far over the misty mountains cold_  
_To dungeons deep, and caverns old_  
_We must away ere break of day_  
_To seek the pale enchanted gold._

_The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,_  
_While hammers fell like ringing bells_  
_In places deep, where dark things sleep,_  
_In hollow halls beneath the fells._

_For ancient king and elvish lord,_

_There many a gleaming golden hoard_  
_They shaped and wrought, and light they caught_  
_To hide in gems on hilt of sword._

_On silver necklaces they strung_  
_The flowering stars, on crowns they hung_  
_The dragon-fire, in twisted wire_  
_They meshed the light of moon and sun._

_Far over the misty mountains cold_  
_To dungeons deep and caverns old_  
_We must away, ere break of day,_  
_To claim our long-forgotten gold._

_Goblets they carved there for themselves_  
_And harps of gold; where no man delves_  
_There lay they long, and many a song_  
_Was sung unheard by men or elves._

_The pines were roaring on the height,_  
_The winds were moaning in the night._  
_The fire was red, it flaming spread;_  
_The trees like torches blazed with light._

Closing her eyes Brynn took on a serene look on her face for a few moments and listened to the deep voices of the dwarves singing. It was peaceful and calming.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Dwalin, Balin, Drifa & Agertha ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It's never easy to admit that your child has grown up, even more so when you are a single parent and that is exactly what Drifa was attempting to come to terms with but she is just unable to release the memories of Brynn as a child. Brynn is her one and only child, the last little bit of Ragnivir that she has left and the thought of her going off on a dangerous and life threatening adventure such as retaking Erebor terrifies Drifa. It is hard to reason with herself and make herself think of Brynn as an independent adult who doesn't need her mother's help every second of the day but it was hard….Brynn was right though, she was no longer a child.

"Dwalin," Drifa stated seriously as she turned from looking out the window at the night sky and towards her brother with a stern look on her face, to which he did a barely noticeable gulp. "If you value your life," she spoke and then looked at Balin pointedly as well. "Or you Balin, then you two will do all that is in your power to be sure that Brynn survives this stupid quest for Erebor relatively unharmed and in once piece." She said and crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly, waiting for a reply.

At that Agertha couldn't help but snort a little in amusement, here was this tall and strong warrior dwarf who was more than likely one of the tallest of kind but yet he was afraid of Drifa a small woman who looked like she could not even wield a weapon let alone take on Dwalin. But, looks can be deceiving.

"You have nothing to worry about sister," Dwalin said as he raised his hands in a placating manner. "I will let no harm come to Brynn, I will watch over my niece fiercely and will protect her with all I have."

Balin nodded his agreement, "Yes Drifa," he said as he stepped forward and placed an aged hand on his youngest siblings shoulder in a caring fashion. "We won't let anything unmentionable happen to her, she will be safe in our care," he paused a moment. "In all of the dwarves care." He said to her with a serious look on his face. "You know how we dwarves are when it comes to the females of our race. She will be more than protected."

"I don't think she is giving you much of a choice anyways," Agertha added to the two men.

Hearing that Drifa gave a small smile and looked over into the living room where Brynn, Fili and Kili, and Ori were seated and laughing about something that Fili had said. Drifa had been so against coming back to this world, to her home seeing Brynn with other dwarves and being around ones that were close in age and interacting with them – she knew that it was good that they came here, but she would have rather her daughter stayed away from adventures of any sort.

"Trust me," Drifa said as she looked Dwalin and Balin in the eyes. "If any harm comes upon her you two will regret the first breath that you ever took." She said with a pointed look sent towards them and crossed her arms, she was serious about that as well – she would and could make their lives a living hell if something harmful befell her daughter.

"We know," Dwalin said with a smirk on his face, he has missed his sister dearly, even the threats that she used to throw at him when he annoyed her or did something that she did not approve of. "We will protect her with all we have."

Drifa gave a nod at that and thought about how much her daughter has grown over the years and the fact that her daughter has become an amazing, wonderful and strong woman…..just as Ragnivir had hoped she would. She was everything that Drifa and Ragnivir had hoped for and more.

"I am not the mother I wished to be," Drifa said suddenly and looked away from Balin, Agertha and Dwalin and closed her eyes as she spoke for a moment. "After…..after Ragnivir died," she choked. "I wanted to be the strong mother that she deserved, I didn't want to wallow in my pain and memories of the past but I was unable to help myself. I let myself fall into the darkness of my sorrow." She admitted to them as she looked up into the eyes of her family and friend. "I've failed my daughter and husband. I promised I would raise Brynn and I did raise her; she is strong, independent, stubborn as a mule, hard headed and an amazing fighter but I lacked in things that should have been an integral part of bringing her up. I didn't teach her of our culture of all that much of Middle-Earth because of memories. I am a terrible mother."

Hearing that Dwalin walked over towards his sister and looked down into her dark eyes and shook his head at her, "I don't believe that for a second," he told her. "I helped in raising my sister and I made sure she was an amazing person and I did damn good when it came to raising her so there is no way that she failed at raising her own daughter, I know that." He told her as he raised one brow at her, as if daring her to say different. "You had a lot to deal with after…after Ragnivir passed and you should be proud of what you accomplished Drifa, you raised Brynn and she is an amazing young woman." He said as he glanced at his blonde headed niece. "I am proud to call her family, and to have you back sister. As far as I can tell she is strong, fierce and just as stubborn as her mother and father – may Mahal help us," he said which made Balin, Drifa and Agertha laugh at how dramatic he sounded. "She speaks for what she believes in and is independent. From what I can tell, even if you did lack in raising her how you wanted to, she seemed to have turned out fine and into a capable woman."

"Awe," Agertha said as she looked at Dwalin and lightly patted him on the cheek. "Are you going soft Dwalin. That was sweet." She joked to him as she gave a wink.

Dwalin growled at that, "I'm not soft and I don't do sweet." He told her fiercely. "If you ever say that again you will regret it."

Before Agertha was able to respond to that, in bantering tone of course, Balin interrupted. "She reminds of me you when you were her age. You acted the same." He told her. "I will be sure that she is watched over dear sister."

As they told her these things Drifa couldn't help but smile a bit, she judged herself harshly and she supposed that Brynn did turn out pretty damn good if she did say so herself, but she knew that she wasn't the best mother that she could have been. She withheld Brynn's own culture from her because of the memories that it brought with it.

"I wished I could have done some things differently though." Drifa admitted to them softly.

Hearing the sorrow in her voice Agertha walked up to her dear friend and wrapped one arm around her shoulders and looked at her sympathetically, "If you would have done anything different Brynn may not have turned out to be the caring, fierce, wonderful and independent woman that she is now." She told her. "She wouldn't be the selfless kind of person who goes on adventures with a bunch of dwarves that she only just met." She pointed out her with a playful smile on her face.

Balin and Dwalin could easily spot the change in their sister; they may have been separated for many years from her and thought her dead but they did not forget about the person that she had once been before all of those terrible things happened to her. Drifa was no longer that same young woman anymore; she was no longer overly happy, optimistic and carefree as she once had been. Now, now Drifa was jaded, suspicious, pessimistic and always thinking the worst. How Dwalin and Balin wished to help her, but the only person who could help Drifa overcome her mind and the pain she has suffered is Drifa herself.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Authors Note ~_~_~_~_~~_~~_~_~_~_~

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter, i know it took a while to get out but it is finally here, so read and enjoy and please review. I appreicate it.

Quote 1: "Anger is an essential part of being human. People are taught to deny themselves anger, and in this, they are actually opening themselves up to hate. The more you deny yourself the freedom to be angry, the more you will hate. Let yourself be angry, and hate will disintegrate, and when hate disintegrates, forgiveness prevails! The more you deny that you are angry, in attempts to be "holy" the more inhuman you will become, and the more inhuman you will become, the harder it will be to forgive."

― C. JoyBell C.

Quote 2: "You are - your life, and nothing else."

― Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit


End file.
